The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, has expressed his sorrow over the passing of South Africa’s Ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire, Zolani Mtshotshisa.
Mtshotshisa passed away in hospital in South Africa on 18 April.
Lamola said Mtshotshisa was devoted to maintaining good political, diplomatic, economic and people-to-people ties between South Africa and Côte d'Ivoire.
“Ambassador Mtshotshisa worked tirelessly to promote South Africa’s engagements with Côte d'Ivoire, including facilitating the November 2023 re-launch of South African Airways Johannesburg to Abidjan route,” said Lamola.
According to the African National Congress (ANC), Mtshotshisa was born in 1958 in Duncan Village, East London, and later relocated with his family to Mdantsane, a result of the apartheid regime’s forced removals that uprooted.
Growing up in a politically active household, the late Ambassador developed a strong commitment to justice, equality, and the liberation ideals of the ANC.
He attended Mzomhle High School in Mdantsane, where he completed his secondary education.
“It was during this period that he was targeted by the apartheid Security Branch due to his rising political activism. The State’s aggression intensified after the funeral of Steve Biko in September 1977, an event that marked a brutal turn in State repression,” a Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) statement read.
The ANC has described him as someone who was part of a generation of young revolutionaries who organised and agitated in defiance of apartheid.
In 1979, Mtshotshisa left the country for exile in Lesotho, where he joined the ANC’s underground structures under the leadership of the late Chris Hani.
He later moved to Lusaka, Zambia, where he underwent political training and joined Radio Freedom, the ANC’s underground broadcasting platform.
“There, he worked under the guidance of senior ANC intellectuals and leaders, including Comrades Khathu Joel Netshitenzhe and Pallo Jordan, who played formative roles in shaping the ANC’s ideological communications.”
The political party said he quickly distinguished himself through his clarity of thought, discipline, and his love for literature and history, which were hallmarks of his contributions to the movement’s communications machinery.
In 1981, he proceeded to Hungary to further his studies, and later to the German Democratic Republic (GDR), where he obtained a journalism qualification.
He then returned to Tanzania, where he continued his work with Radio Freedom, and later moved to Zimbabwe, where he was instrumental in expanding the ANC’s regional communications infrastructure.
In 1991, he returned home after the ANC was unbanned and South Africa began its transition to democracy.
“He served in both the public and private sectors with dignity and commitment, and was later appointed as South Africa’s Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, where he represented the Republic with distinction, humility, and a deep sense of continental solidarity.”
Mtshotshisa has been described as a quiet giant, who was grounded in principle, rich in intellect, and unwavering in his devotion to the cause of liberation.
“He personified the discipline, sacrifice, and visionary leadership of his generation.”
Since then, the party has extended its deepest condolences to his family, comrades, friends, and all those touched by his life and revolutionary contribution.
The funeral details are yet to be communicated. – SAnews.gov.za
