Abe Nkomo

Abraham Sokhaya Nkomo (1 June 1940 – 10 July 2021) was a South African medical doctor, activist, politician, and diplomat. He was a community leader and anti-apartheid activist in Atteridgeville, Pretoria during apartheid, and he later represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the post-apartheid National Assembly, chairing the Portfolio Committee on Health during the first democratic Parliament.

Abe Nkomo
Personal details
Born
Abraham Sokhaya Nkomo

(1940-06-01)1 June 1940
Died10 July 2021(2021-07-10) (aged 81)
Pretoria, South Africa
CitizenshipSouth Africa
Political partyAfrican National Congress
ParentWilliam Frederick Nkomo
Nicknames
  • Abe
  • Abbey

Early life and activism

Nkomo was born on 1 June 1940.[1] Like his father, William Nkomo, he became a medical doctor and community activist in Pretoria. In 1984, he helped found the Atteridgeville-Saulsville Residents Organisation (ASRO) and was elected its inaugural chairman.[2] Allied to the outlawed ANC and strongly opposed to apartheid, ASRO's activism received international attention; during South Africa's 1986 state of emergency, the United States Senate passed a resolution, sponsored by Senator Mitch McConnell, acknowledging that Nkomo was "representative of the majority of South Africans who seek peaceful change in South Africa" and calling for the apartheid government to "enter into dialogue with such moderate forces".[3]

ASRO led a campaign to protest and disable black local authorities in the area, most famously through a successful rent boycott that culminated, in 1990, with the government cutting off electricity supply to Atteridgeville in its entirety; in Operation Tshuma ("switch on"), ASRO organised young activists to move around the township with ladders to restore electricity supply from the power lines.[2][4] By that time, Nkomo also chaired the Atteridgeville branch of the ANC, which had been unbanned in 1990.[4]

Nkomo was a founding member of the Kagiso Trust in the 1980s and he succeeded Beyers Naude as its chairperson until 1994, when he joined Parliament.[5] He was also a recipient of the Nelson Mandela Health Award.[5]

Post-apartheid political career

Nkomo was elected to the National Assembly in South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994,[6] and he was re-elected in 1999.[1] He represented the Gauteng constituency and was chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Health in a period which overlapped with the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa. Zackie Achmat of the Treatment Action Campaign later admired Nkomo for his attitude and actions during the epidemic.[7] Nkomo also chaired an ad hoc committee on abortion and sterilisation; his final report, completed in 1995, recommended open access to abortion during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy,[8] which was granted by the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act the following year.

Nkomo left Parliament before the end of his second term to serve as South African High Commissioner to Malaysia.[9] He was later High Commissioner to Canada.[10]

Personal life and death

Nkomo died of COVID-19-related illness on 10 July 2021 in hospital in Pretoria.[2][7] His youngest son, Marumo Nkomo, is a diplomat.[7]

References
  1. "General Notice: Notice 1319 of 1999 – Electoral Commission: Representatives Elected to the Various Legislatures" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 408, no. 20203. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 11 June 1999. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  2. "Dr Abraham 'Abbey' Nkomo: The People's Doctor". Weekly SA Mirror. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  3. "US Congress SRES503". TrackBill. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  4. Wren, Christopher S. (24 November 1990). "Atteridgeville Journal; Fighting Apartheid Power by Refusing to Pay for It". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  5. "A tribute to our great patron". Mail & Guardian. 19 July 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2023 – via PressReader.
  6. South Africa: Campaign and Election Report April 26–29, 1994. International Republican Institute. 1994. Retrieved 13 April 2023 – via Yumpu.
  7. "Monopolies on Covid vaccines are killing people in poorer countries". Irish Examiner. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  8. "Cash strapped NGOs face closure". The Mail & Guardian. 18 August 1995. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  9. "Kidnapped SA envoy walks home barefoot". IOL. 31 May 2004. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  10. "Canada appeals controversial refugee case". The Mail & Guardian. 4 September 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
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