Arthur Letele (1916 - 1965) & Mary Letele (1921 - 2005)

A Partnership in Medicine and Freedom

Dr Arthur Elias Letele and his wife, Mary Letele, were among Kimberley's most respected community leaders during the 1940s and 1950s. While Arthur served the city as a medical doctor, both became deeply involved in the struggle against apartheid, enduring arrest, imprisonment and long periods of separation from their family because of their political beliefs. Today, they are remembered as one of Kimberley's most remarkable partnerships in medicine, public service and the struggle for freedom.

Arthur Letele

Arthur Elias Letele was born in Maseru, Lesotho, on 2 October 1916. His father, Elias Letele, was an inspector of schools, and the family later settled in Ladybrand in the Orange Free State. After studying at Lovedale Institute, the University of Fort Hare and the University of the Witwatersrand, Arthur qualified as a medical doctor in 1946.

Following a year in medical practice at Lovedale, he moved to Kimberley in 1948. The same year, he married Mary-Anne Nombulelo Grace Nkolombe in Cape Town. Together they raised five children while building a life centred on medicine, family and public service.

A Doctor Serving Kimberley

As one of the few Black doctors practising in Kimberley at the time, Dr Letele became widely respected for his dedication to his patients. Alongside his medical work, he became increasingly involved in public life through the African National Congress (ANC), joining the Kimberley branch and later serving as its Treasurer. His medical practice brought him into daily contact with the hardships faced by Kimberley's Black communities under apartheid, strengthening his commitment to political and social change.

Standing Against Apartheid

Dr Letele played an active role in the 1952 Defiance Campaign, a nationwide campaign of peaceful civil disobedience against apartheid laws. One of Kimberley's best-known acts of protest took place at the city's railway station, where he joined volunteers in deliberately occupying "Whites Only" benches. He was arrested, fined and later placed under banning orders restricting his movement.

He subsequently served on the ANC National Executive and became the organisation's Treasurer-General in 1955. He also helped collect the demands of Kimberley's residents for inclusion in the Freedom Charter. Following the Sharpeville massacre in 1960, he publicly burned his reference book (commonly known as a passbook). He was arrested again before eventually being forced into exile. Dr Letele continued representing the ANC internationally until his death in Lesotho in 1965. In recognition of his contribution to South Africa's democracy, he was posthumously awarded the Order of Luthuli (Silver).

Mary Letele

Mary-Anne Nombulelo Grace Nkolombe was born into a Xhosa family in Cape Town in 1921. She married Arthur Letele on 12 July 1948. After moving to Kimberley, she became a respected community leader in her own right.

Rather than remaining in the background, Mary emerged as one of the leading members of the ANC Women's League in Galeshewe, working alongside Monica Matshediso, Rebecca Keshebang, Kenosi Besnaar, and Mittah Sekaenyane Boikanyo.

The Women's March

In 1956, Mary Letele represented the Northern Cape during the historic Women's March to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, when approximately 20,000 women protested against the extension of pass laws to women. Like many participants, she later faced detention and imprisonment. In 1960, she was held for three months on charges of encouraging women to resist carrying passes. Despite repeated harassment, she remained active in community affairs while raising her family through years of political upheaval. Mary Letele died in 2005.

A Shared Legacy

Arthur and Mary Letele demonstrated that public service could take many forms. Arthur cared for Kimberley's people as a doctor while advocating for political change. Mary became one of the Northern Cape's leading women activists, helping organise and inspire others despite the personal risks involved.

Together, they demonstrated that caring for a community could mean healing its people as well as fighting for its freedoms. Their legacy of courage, compassion and public service remains an important part of Kimberley's history.

Did You Know?

In 1952, Dr Arthur Letele was arrested at Kimberley Railway Station after deliberately sitting on a "Whites Only" bench during the Defiance Campaign—one of Kimberley's best-known acts of peaceful resistance to apartheid.