First African woman banished in apartheid honoured

Johannesburg - Makwena Matlala, the first African woman banished by the apartheid regime, is being honoured on Monday.

Arts and Culture Deputy Minister Rejoice Mabudafhasi will unveil Matlala's burial and commemoration site in Ga-Matlala, south west of Mokopane in Limpopo, to honour a woman she describes as an "unsung hero".

"Given her as the first known African woman to be banished by the apartheid regime, unveiling and commemoration of the burial and memorial site of this unsung hero is a fitting tribute as it culminates Women's Month," the deputy minister said.

Matlala was an a regent chieftainess who opposed the apartheid government's "betterment" policies. She was deposed as regent chieftainess in 1949 by the then-Native Affairs Department for allegedly abusing her position, particularly her refusal to co-operate with the department in the reclamation of Matlala's location.

She was later banished to Temba in Hammanskraal, and then King Williams Town.

Her banishment sparked a revolt. The apartheid government removed and banished over 50 people who were identified as supporters of Matlala in an attempt to quell the revolt.