The state’s star witness made damning allegations in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Friday‚ accusi.
The march against the apartheid pass laws was attended by thousands of women from different racial backgrounds. Following the dawn of democracy, August 9 is celebrated as Women's Day.
Today her daughter Sonja De Bruyn-Sebotsa shows that political freedom and equality are not the end in themselves.
De Bruyn-Sebotsa's focus is on investing in established businesses as well as giving loans to entrepreneurs.
De Bruyn-Sebotsa, born in Lusaka, Zambia, where her parents were exiled, started thinking about how black people would participate meaningfully in the economy when she returned home before the 1994 elections.
"I thought, as a nation, we need to think about the future.
"What will the democracy mean for our people? What will voting mean to us as a nation? How will democracy change the lives of the people?
"My parents and others focused on the liberation struggle, they gave us political freedom. Now my generation's job is to ensure everyone attains economic freedom," she says.
She returned home armed with an LLB from London School of Economics and a master's degree in economics and business from McGill University in Canada.
The good education allowed her to put her thoughts together while working for big investment companies. These included Deutsche Bank, where she was responsible for black economic transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and Women's Development Bank, where she was involved with building investments to benefit a rural women's empowerment fund.
Apart from serving on several boards, she was part of one of former president Thabo Mbeki's business working groups.
These experiences helped her build a solid foundation for her and business partner Polo Leteka Radebe to start Identity Capital Partners in 2008.
The company has a business development fund, focusing mainly on women and youth.
Her posh open-plan office in Illovo, Johannesburg, tells a story of who she admires for their historical role in the country. The office boardrooms are named after influential African leaders such as King Moshoeshoe, Shaka Zulu, Julius Nyerere, Queen Modjadji and Queen Manthatisi.
The open-plan office also tells a story of her management style. She says, with the kind of deals they do, it is important as a leader to be close to the people she works with because if there is a crisis they just shout. There's no need to knock on her office door.
We settle in the Shaka Zulu boardroom where De Bruyn speaks proudly about how they built a women-led investment company that empowers others, including men. The minimum loan they have given out was R250000 and the maximum R1.7-million. So far, they have written off 20% of the loans, which she says is normal when businesses are not doing well.
She says their investment horizon is up to five years, after which they measure the performance of the recipients of the business loans.
"We have to date financed 70 businesses and 54 of them are women-owned. We finance people who are involved in the day-to-day running of their operations and expect them to pay back the loans within five years. We are not funding the BEE deals."
She admits that funding developing business has risks. Identity Capital Partners takes the risks that banks don't want. But they have a unit that monitors the bank accounts of their clients and those that need mentoring get help.
"It is important to provide them with support and we also do entrepreneurial assessment.
"Do they have that personality to run [a] business? Can they stand the challenges?"
The sectors that her company does not focus on because they will not have made money in five years include primary mining, property, primary agriculture, gambling and the liquor business.
She is happy that they have generated success stories which show that, with funding, aspirant entrepreneurs can live their dream. She believes, for anyone to be successful in business, they must plan ahead and save money.
She recalls that when she opened the company with her business partner Radebe, they did not draw salaries for some time and they were also given offices by a friend until they could get on their feet.
She and Radebe also built their company's investment portfolio and have interests in mining, transport, logistics and the food sector.
De Bruyn-Sebotsa says they have so far concluded 14 deals and have exited two, meaning they have sold their shares.
She is happy that the government has a target to create 100 black industrialists in three years, but "we need to ask ourselves how many are going to be women".
"It cannot end up being all men. We need black women industrialists but it must be those who understand what needs to be done."
She strongly believes that black people need economic influence not only political influence. And, that they cannot reach that level through favours and political connections. People must earn their stripes, she says.
ANC NEC member Mathole Motshekga has broken ranks and joined the call for the removal of Jacob Zuma as the president of the country and the ANC.
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zazezi
Ok, I wanted to read this one but it is too long. Those who read please summarise for me.
Shredder
kgonyoh, are you masquerading yourself under the zazezi name?
TheNextPresidentOfSA
I read the article @KG, i wanted to see something out of the ordinary. But the article is hallow, except the Khanyi Dlomo factor of loaning money. There are lots of Financial Service Provider, with due respect most loans are liabilities and derive huge pressure to the person loaning.
Pippybug
hahaha me2 I'm not ready to read it
Dandan
shaka Zulu being an influential person I dont think so
TheNextPresidentOfSA
@Dandan, i realized they are side lining Sekhukhune in every thing.
RobinX
Are you seriously suggesting that Shaka Zulu was not significant? You really have too many screws loose.
Dandan
Im nt that desperate black guy to be fed nonsense by white person try skwamasobulima nt me, if he was influential why was he assassinated and why King Dingaan was reign was covered up
RobinX
??????????????????
masepa
@RobinX, leave him, he seems white phobic.
RobinX
Extremely.
Dandan
"King Dingaan's reign was covered up"
RobinX
In what way was it covered up? He is one of few kings taken into account even in the old apartheid version of history.
masepa
@Dandan, he was influential, actually even some SA special forces units do recognize as a warrior and fighter he was. Actually, if it was not because of Shaka, maybe even SA would have been conquered by Arabs before Europeans after they took Egypt and some parts of North Africa.
ssengabukoto
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RobinX
As far as content goes, I find this article verbose but shallow. What the woman is saying is not new at all. So why the fuss?
khwaphalendoda
Naming the board room with Shaka Zulu. I am not sure about that. Shaka Zulu’s ways of building the Zulu Nation were very wrong. He displaced our tribe from Pongola to some forest in Inkandla. His warriors followed us and we fled and went to hide in Umzimkhulu and we also were scattered all over South Coast and in some parts of Eastern Cape (formerly Transkei). Today we are known as Amabhaca. He took our live stock and women. We established ourselves and mastered the art controlling the lightning. He sent his warriors to attack us in our establishment , we sat back and relaxed. The minute the warriors approached us we would send lightning (thwahla thwihli tha tha tha tha tha tha !!!!!!!!!!!. The warriors could not match us. They gave up and went back to Zululand. Even today we are still waiting for them to come and attach.
RobinX
Nevertheless he was an extremely important figure in our history.
Dandan
white people love him dearly as a person who gave them our land when Dingaan ,Mhlangaan and Mbopha wase Mgazini assassinated him the white people h@ted Dingaan and they porttrayed him as Canibal, bad person because they had their stooge that was selling our land for mirrors
Guess what , to prove a point , after that Dingaan called these white(set.tlers) to come and fetch cattles , they taught WHOOOAAAAA this one is far better than Shaka unfortunately it was dark in the noon, since then they went out to bad mouth King Dingaan over Shaka , they went on to write history books about Shaka was that and that and Dingaan was such a bad person
All in all I know what you talk about Im so proud you know where you come from I know everything but at the end we managed to stop him
Dandan
white people love him dearly as a person who gave them our land when Dingaan ,Mhlangaan and Mbopha wase Mgazini assassinated him the white people h@ted Dingaan and they porttrayed him as Canibal, bad person because they had their sto.oge that was selling our land for mirrors
Guess what , to prove a point , after that Dingaan called these white(set.tlers) to come and fetch cattles , they taught WHOOOAAAAA this one is far better than Shaka unfortunately it was dark in the noon, since then they went out to bad mouth King Dingaan over Shaka , they went on to write history books about Shaka was that and that and Dingaan was such a bad person
All in all I know what you talk about Im so proud you know where you come from I know everything but at the end we managed to stop him
Dandan
white people love him dearly as a person who gave them our land when Dingaan ,Mhlangaan and Mbopha wase Mgazini assassinated him the white people h@ted Dingaan and they porttrayed him as Can.ibal, bad person because they had their sto.oge that was selling our land for mirrors
Guess what , to prove a point , after that Dingaan called these white(set.tlers) to come and fetch cattles , they taught WHOOOAAAAA this one is far better than Shaka unfortunately it was dark in the noon, since then they went out to bad mouth King Dingaan over Shaka , they went on to write history books about Shaka was that and that and Dingaan was such a bad person
All in all I know what you talk about Im so proud you know where you come from I know everything but at the end we managed to stop him
Dandan
white people love him dearly as a person who gave them our land when Dingaan ,Mhlangaan and Mbopha wase Mgazini assas.sinated him the white people h@ted Dingaan and they porttrayed him as Can.ibal, bad person because they had their sto.oge that was selling our land for mirrors
Guess what , to prove a point , after that Dingaan called these white(set.tlers) to come and fetch cattles , they taught WHOOOAAAAA this one is far better than Shaka unfortunately it was dark in the noon, since then they went out to bad mouth King Dingaan over Shaka , they went on to write history books about Shaka was that and that and Dingaan was such a bad person
All in all I know what you talk about Im so proud you know where you come from I know everything but at the end we managed to stop him
Dandan
whi.te people love him dearly as a person who gave them our land when Dingaan ,Mhlangaan and Mbopha wase Mgazi.ni assas.sinated him the white people h@ted Dingaan and they porttrayed him as Can.ibal, bad person because they had their sto.oge that was selling our land for mirrors
Guess what , to prove a point , after that Dingaan called these white(set.tlers) to come and fetch cattles , they taught WHOOOAAAAA this one is far better than Shaka unfortunately it was dark in the noon, since then they went out to bad mouth King Dingaan over Shaka , they went on to write history books about Shaka was that and that and Dingaan was such a bad person
All in all I know what you talk about Im so proud you know where you come from I know everything but at the end we managed to stop him
Dandan
whi.te people love him dearly as a person who gave them our land when Dingaan ,Mhlangaan and Mbopha wase Mgazi.ni assas.sinated him the whi.te people h@ted Dingaan and they portrayed him as Can.ibal, bad person because they had their sto.oge that was selling our land for mirrors
Guess what , to prove a point , after that Dingaan called these w.hite(set.tlers) to come and fetch cattles , they taught WHOOOAAAAA this one is far better than Shaka unfortunately it was dark in the noon, since then they went out to bad mouth King Dingaan over Shaka , they went on to write history books about Shaka was that and that and Dingaan was such a bad person
All in all I know what you talk about Im so proud you know where you come from I know everything but at the end we managed to stop him
Dandan
whi.te people love him dearly as a person who gave them our land when Dingaan ,Mhlangaan and Mbopha wase Mgazi.ni assas.sinated him the whi.te people h@ted Dingaan and they portrayed him as Can.ibal, bad person because they had their sto.oge that was selling our land for mirrors
Guess what , to prove a point , after that Dingaan called these w.hite(set.tlers) to come and fetch cattles , they taught WHO.OOAAAAA this one is far better than Shaka unfortunately it was dark in the noon, since then they went out to bad mouth King Dingaan over Shaka , they went on to write history books about Shaka was that and that and Dingaan was such a bad person
All in all I know what you talk about Im so proud you know where you come from I know everything but at the end we managed to stop him
Dandan
whi.te people love him dearly as a person who gave them our land when Dingaan ,Mhlangaan and Mbopha wase Mgazi.ni assas.sinated him the whi.te people h@ted Dingaan and they portrayed him as Can.ibal, bad person because they had their sto.oge that was selling our land for mirrors
Guess what , to prove a point , after that Dingaan called these w.hite(s@t.tlers) to come and fetch cattles , they taught WHO.OOAAAAA this one is far better than Shaka unfortunately it was dark in the noon, since then they went out to bad mouth King Dingaan over Shaka , they went on to write history books about Shaka was that and that and Dingaan was such a bad person
All in all I know what you talk about Im so proud you know where you come from I know everything but at the end we managed to stop him
RobinX
HEY AR$EHOLE, SUCH HATE-FILLED RACIST CRAP NEED NOT BE REPEATED. We are not all as slow on the uptake as you appear to be.