Anti-apartheid activist Mmagauta Molefe, pictured in the second row, between President Cyril Ramaphosa and Presidency director-general Phindile Baleni, who are both seated, was among the recipients bestowed with National Orders recognising their contributions to democracy, science, arts, sport and nation-building at a ceremony held at the Sefako Makgatho Guesthouse in Pretoria last month.
Mmagauta Molefe was a 21-year-old student from Tladi, Soweto, who had just been expelled from Turfloop University when, in the months leading to June 16, 1976, she started helping to mobilise against Afrikaans tuition in schools.
This marked Molefe's second expulsion from the institution, which recently awarded her the Order of Luthuli in silver, recognising her dedication to a non-racial, non-sexist, and democratic South Africa. The accolade was bestowed to her by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The institution, initially renamed the University of the North and now known as the University of Limpopo, was a hotbed of resistance to apartheid from the late 1960s to mid-1970s, which culminated in a number of students being expelled for their participation in “Viva Frelimo” rallies in September 1974 following the coup d’état in Portugal and ahead of Mozambique’s independence from Portuguese colonial rule the following year.
