Mittah Seperepere (1929–2010)

Kimberley's Daughter of Exile and Freedom

Mittah Seperepere, affectionately known by her maiden name "Goeieman", devoted over four decades of her life to South Africa's struggle for freedom. Born near Kimberley in 1929, she became an organiser, political activist, diplomat, parliamentarian and community leader whose work stretched from the streets of Galeshewe to African National Congress (ANC) missions across Africa and Europe. In recognition of her lifelong service, she was posthumously awarded the Order of Luthuli (Bronze) in 2014, one of South Africa's highest civilian honours.

Growing Up Near Kimberley

Mittah Goeieman was born at Riverton, just outside Kimberley, on 28 December 1929. As a young woman, she was inspired by the ANC Youth League's Programme of Action adopted in 1949, which called for mass action against apartheid. She soon became involved in organising women against the hated pass laws. Working closely with Dr Arthur Letele, Mary Letele and Monica Matshediso, she helped build the African National Congress and the ANC Women's League in Kimberley and Galeshewe. As Secretary of the ANC's Galeshewe branch and an active member of the Youth League, she also became involved in underground resistance activities. These activities eventually led to her imprisonment in 1965.

Years in Exile

Following her release from prison in 1966, Mittah and her husband, Maruping Seperepere, left South Africa for Botswana before beginning more than twenty years in exile. She lived and worked in Tanzania, Zambia, and East Germany, becoming one of the ANC's leading international representatives. While serving as an ANC welfare officer in Tanzania, she established a primary school at the Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College (SOMAFCO), the school established by the ANC for South African children living in exile. 

In October 1981, she and fellow activist Dulcie September represented the ANC Women's Section at the World Congress of Women for Equality, National Independence and Peace in Prague, then part of Czechoslovakia.

During the final years of apartheid, Mittah Seperepere served as the ANC's Chief Representative in Madagascar, with diplomatic responsibility for much of the Indian Ocean region. Long before democratic South Africa established embassies there, she helped build international support for the anti-apartheid movement and laid the foundations for future diplomatic relationships.

A Lasting Legacy

Mittah Seperepere's contribution has been recognised in many ways. In 2012, Kimberley's International Convention Centre, overlooking the Big Hole, was renamed the Mittah Seperepere Convention Centre in her honour. 

Today, visitors attending conferences and events at the Mittah Seperepere Convention Centre encounter the name of one of Kimberley's most remarkable daughters—a woman whose journey took her from Riverton and Galeshewe to the international struggle against apartheid before bringing her home to help build a democratic South Africa.