ANC eThekwini mourns loss of 'selfless leader' Cheryl Sisoka
The ANC eThekwini Region mourns Cheryl Sisoka, 53, a councillor and Deputy Regional Coordinator who rose from street activism to become a respected leader known for her 'selfless leadership' and commitment to community service. Her passing was announced by the party on Tuesday.
Image: Instagram
The African National Congress (ANC) eThekwini Regional Task Team has lost one of its senior members, Deputy Regional Coordinator and councillor Ntombifuthi Cheryl Sisoka.
The party made the announcement on Tuesday. The ANC described Sisoka's passing as "a major loss to the movement, the broader liberation struggle and the communities she served".
In a statement released by Simiso Mkhize, the ANC eThekwini Regional Task Team Coordinator, Sisoka’s passing had come as a shock and left a void within the organisation, where she was known for her humility, discipline and unwavering commitment to public service.
The regional leadership extended its heartfelt condolences to the Sisoka family, relatives, friends and comrades, saying the organisation stood in solidarity with them during this period of mourning.
THE African National Congress's eThekwini Regional Task Team mourns the loss of its Deputy Coordinators, Cheryl Sisoka, 53, whose death was announced by the organisation yesterday.
Image: Instagram
Sisoka, 53, joined the liberation movement at a young age in Lamontville, where she cut her teeth in the township's street activism by joining the street committees, the high school learner movement around Durban with the Congress of South African Students (COSAS), the ANC and the South African Communist Party (SACP).
Lamontville, where she grew up, was the birthplace of the rent boycott slogan Asinamali (we don't have money), coined by ANC struggle veteran Msizi Dube, who returned to the Durban township after his incarceration at Robben Island.
The slogan reverberated across Chesterville, KwaMashu, Klaarwater and many Durban townships that were facing rent increases. So impactful was the slogan that the late playwright Mbongeni Ngema wrote a play based on Dube's activism, in a play of the same name as the slogan.
"From her early years of activism, she distinguished herself as a principled and dedicated cadre.
"She rose through the ranks of the ANC, serving at both zonal and regional levels, and was later appointed Deputy Regional Coordinator of the ANC in eThekwini. At the time of her death, Sisoka was serving as a councillor in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and held the position of whip of the Community Services Committee," said Mkhize.
ANC eThekwini Regional Task Team Deputy Coordinator, Cheryl Sisoka, 53, has passed away. Her organisation announced on Tuesday. Sisoka was an eThekwini councillor and cut her teeth in street activism in Lamontville, Durban.
Image: File
According to the ANC, she carried out her responsibilities with diligence and a strong sense of accountability to the people she represented.
Beyond her political and public service roles, Sisoka was also an accomplished academic, holding a postgraduate qualification, which the party said reflected her commitment to learning, development and the empowerment of society.
Sisoka left what was regarded as a cushy and stable job as an inspector at the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSiRA) to focus on politics full-time as a councillor.
Mkhize said Sisoka would be remembered for her vibrant personality, caring nature and selfless leadership, describing her as a unifier who consistently placed the interests of the organisation and the community above her own.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE