Obituary: Eleanor Kasrils; Freedom fighter, member of ANC and SACP.

Eleanor Kasrils, the ANC and CPSA activist, and wife of former intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils, died on Sunday after suffering a stroke. She was 73. 

Ronnie Kasrils said Eleanor had suddenly collapsed and after just a few hours at Constantiaberg Medi-Clinic, died in the early afternoon. 

The couple would have been married for 45 years next month - the "most wonderful, happy marriage", Kasrils said. Sounding emotional but calm, he said she had done "some fantastic things" in her lifetime's work for the Communist Party, the ANC and Umkhonto we Sizwe. In her last years she had been Kasrils' support: "My very strong support." 

He described how she had been born in Scotland and moved to South Africa when she was just a year old. 

She became involved in politics, becoming a member of the South African Congress of Democrats. She became the second white woman in the country to be arrested, when in 1963 she was held under the 90 Day Act because of her involvement in MK. 

After a few months of detention she managed to escape from police custody. The couple then left South Africa and lived in exile for nearly 30 years. During this time Eleanor worked for ANC president Oliver Tambo. She later became a geologist and a technician and worked in London for the Inner London Education Authority. 

    

The couple returned to South Africa in 1992 and Eleanor again spent time working for Tambo.  ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said on Sunday night the party would be saddened by the news of her death. 

"In her own right, we could not have been enjoying the freedoms we have now if people with her stature where not there. And we will remember her as the wife of a very good leader and Minister of the ANC. Behind every successful man there is a very good woman. We wouldn't have got the leadership from comrade Ronnie if he didn't have a stable background. 

"We will miss her dearly and we know her family will miss her even more and we extend our condolences to them." 

South African Communist Party spokesperson Malesela Maleka said: "We express our deepest sympathy to comrade Ronnie and to his family." 

He said a full statement would be released after consultation with family and party members. 

Eleanor had a daughter, Brigid, from a previous marriage, and two grandchildren. She and Kasrils had two sons, Andrew and Christopher. 

Cape Times.

http://www.capetimes.co.za/

--------------------------------------------

Statement released by the SACP.

Cde Eleanor joined the underground SACP in the late 1950s. She was among the first to join the ranks of MK after the launch of the ANC’s armed wing in 1960. She was part of a Natal MK network that included the late Billy Nair and Eleanor’s future husband, Ronnie Kasrils.

She was the second white woman to be arrested for MK activities in the early 1960s. Subjected to intense interrogation and physical abuse, she eventually managed to escape from the Security Police while in custody in a medical facility. She re-established contact with her underground network. Together with Ronnie, who was on the run at the time, she was able to escape from the country and move into exile.

In the following three decades Eleanor remained an active cadre in the ANC-led movement. She was based at first in Tanzania and then later in London. During this time she worked with the ANC president, Cde OR Tambo. Later she was active in Operation Vula, in particular preparing disguises for comrades about to be deployed into the underground.

The ANC exile period is a remarkable story of perseverance in the face of enormous across several continents, at a time when the apartheid regime was still surrounded by a cordon sanitaire of like-minded white minority and colonial states. Uniquely for the national liberal movements in the 20th century, the ANC emerged from this lengthy diaspora unified and more popular inside SA than ever before.

This achievement was the accomplishment of many thousands of selfless and unsung cadres who succeeded in rebuilding organisation and morale. Eleanor’s work in exile epitomises all of the best features of this remarkable achievement.

Eleanor returned to SA in the early 1990s and was living in St James, Cape Town at the time of her death.

To Cde Ronnie Kasrils, to Eleanor’s daughter Bridget, and to Eleanor and Ronnie’s sons Christopher and Andrew, the SACP sends its deep sense of shared sadness, our solidarity with you at this time, and, above all, our pride in being able to count as one of ours, Cde Eleanor.

Hamba kahle, Cde Eleanor Kasrils.

Issued by the SACP.