One of South Africa‚s struggle icons, Alfred Nzo was remembers in a memorial lecture organized by the Alfred Nzo District Municipality.

The lecture was delivered by ANC activist and former private secretary to Alfred Baphethuxolo Nzo, Mr Kulu Mbata at a half empty Municipality’s conference centre, in Mount Ayliff on March 12, 2008.

He urged guests, who included the wife of the late Alfred Nzo, to continue honoring the life‚s work of people such as Mr Nzo, whose commitment to the cause of human rights truly set him apart. Bata expressed his appreciation to the Alfred Nzo District Municipality and the Nzo family for having presented the lecture in memory of “this great individual.”

He reminded the guest of how Nzo became the longest serving ANC Secretary General. The memorial lecture forms part of the year-long activities commemorating the 50th anniversary of the women‚s anti-pass campaign march to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956.

ANDM executive mayor GG Mpumza assured the guests in attendance that his municipality will do all in its powers to uphold the name of Nzo. Nzo was the former South African first democratic Foreign Affairs Minister and ANC longest serving Secretary General.

The Alfred Nzo Memorial Lecture which was attended by Nzo’s grand children, wife Regina, brother and sisters, started with a visit to an Open Council Day at Ward 24 in Mount Frere.

Nzo was born on 25 June 1925 in Mount Fletcher. After his high school years, in 1945 he registered for a BSc degree at Fort Hare University in Alice. It is in Fort Hare that he was introduced to politics and joined the ANC Youth League.

He left on his second year of study. In 1951, Nzo qualified as a Health Inspector.
Whilst staying in Alexandra Township, in Johannesburg, 1955, Nzo got involved in the organizing for the Congress of the People where the Freedom Charter was adopted.

In 1956 he was elected as ANC Branch Chairperson in Alexandra and was instrumental in the organizing of the Alexandra Bus Boycott in 1957. In 1962 Nzo was placed under twenty four hour house arrest and in 1963 detained for period of 238 days.

It was in 1964 when the ANC ordered him to leave the country. He represented the ANC in various counties including, Egypt, India, Zambia and Tanzania, up until he was elected as Secretary General of the ANC at Morogoro Conference in 1969.
In 1985 Nzo was re-elected as Secretary General of the ANC at the Kabwe Conference.

In 1994, Nzo was appointed as a Minister of Foreign Affairs. He passed away on 13 January 2000 at Olivedale Clinic in Rustenburg after suffering a stroke in December 1999. After all the formalities, the guests were entertained by well known Eastern Cape jazz artist, Bushi Dubazana.