By Fahdia Msaka and Tsholofelo Ledwaba
The 132-year-old Victoria Girls’ High School (VGHS) in Makhanda, named originally after the colonial Queen Victoria of England, has co-dedicated its name to anti-apartheid activist, nurse, midwife, and attorney Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge.
Mxenge is one of the anti-apartheid movement’s best-loved and most well-known female icons, and was assassinated in 1985 by one of the apartheid government’s death squads, just four years after her attorney and anti-apartheid activist husband, Griffiths Mxenge, was murdered by Vlakplaas agents led by apartheid assassin, Dirk Coetzee.
At a co-dedication ceremony on 25 August, Mxenge’s son, Mbasa Mxenge expressed his pride that VGHS chose to co-dedicate the school to his mother. Mxenge told the gathering that if his mother was here today, she would tell the learners to “fight ignorance, fight incompetence”, pointing to the problem of educators who continue to write racist words on classroom blackboards.
“Mama would say to you ‘fight injustice’. For instance, in South Africa, there does not seem to be any end to racism. It manifests itself in different forms. Whether subtle or obvious, it dehumanises and hurts those who are subjected to it”, he added, urging the students to fight racism.
“She would say to you ‘fight duplicity’. We cannot afford to have adults or politicians promising you this and giving you that”, he said.
Mxenge would also have told the students to “fight corruption in all its guises. If you are a nation builder, you cannot afford to be associated with corruption”, Mbasa Mxenge added.
He told the students that his mother believed that “we rise by lifting others, especially those who are less fortunate than us”, and that he expected from a school carrying his mother’s name that the students would be an example to others.
“There is nothing more beautiful than someone who goes out of their way to make life more beautiful for others”, he added.
Conversations around having a name that was more representative of the VGHS community began in 2015 during the #FeesMustFall movement, VGHS principal Warren Schmidt said. The school chose to rededicate the school to Victoria Mxenge because she was an Eastern Cape-born heroine who could adequately represent the current VGHS. The fact that her name is also Victoria meant they did not have to completely change the school’s name, he said. Mxenge’s portrait would hang opposite Queen Victoria’s as a symbol of the new direction the school was heading in, while acknowledging its roots.
The co-dedication took place in the school hall where the school’s marimba band and soloist kept the audience entertained. The guests present included the Mxenge family, principals from other schools, Rhodes University Vice Chancellor Dr. Sizwe Mabizela, the students, and others. Artist Robyn Pretorius, who painted the portrait, was present for the unveiling of Mxenge’s portrait.
Mabizela, who was on the VGHS school governing body when his children attended the school, described Mxenge as someone who personified dignity and courage, unshakeable bravery, and embracing change within the country. The values of the school “capture Victoria Mxenge’s passion for knowledge and skills and how she continued to serve a great course of legal justice,” he said.
