Media Statement: NHC mourns the passing of one of the last surviving two Nursing Nightingales

The National Heritage Council (NHC) mourns the passing of uMama Ntombenhle Fitho Khuzwayo who was one of the last two surviving nursing Nightingales who hearkened to the clarion call to help establish a healthy system during the early 1960s in Tanzania. uMama Khuzwayo was laid to rest on Friday, 10 January 2025 in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

When the newly independent Tanganyika, and later the United Republic of Tanzania, obtained its independence on 9 December 1961, the country encountered a shortage of nurses due to the nurses (mainly from Brittain) resigning and preferring not to work under the black government.

The then President of the Republic of Tanzania, President Julius Nyerere approached Oliver Reginald Tambo who at the time was the Acting President of the African National Congress, to assist with the recruitment of nurses from South Africa, to mitigate the shortage of nurses in his country.

Oliver Tambo relayed the message to his fellow comrades back home to implement a high-level recruiting underground operation, as the ANC was banned. The following liberation struggle stalwarts, Mama Albertina Sisulu, Govan Mbeki and Johnny Makhathini provincially coordinated the recruitment process respectively in the Transvaal, Eastern Cape and Natal with Ahmed Kathrada as the overall coordinator of the operation.

uMama Fitho Khuzwayo and other selfless Nightingales sacrificed their lives being ferried from South Africa to Botswana and from Botswana to Tanzania to serve and improve the health system in Tanzania.

“May we remember Mama Khuzwayo’s legacy in the nursing profession in South Africa and Tanzania for her selflessness and sacrifices to Africa’s liberation heritage. And not forgetting the other 20 Nightingales who contributed immensely to the close ties South Africa has with Tanzania” said Dr Thabo Manetsi, CEO of the NHC.

The NHC was in attendance together with the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture and other stakeholders.

Mama Khuzwayo’s funeral was documented by the NHC as part of preserving the rich heritage of African Liberation heritage.

Mama Khuzwayo was a Pan Africanist till the end of her life which embodied excellence, service, sacrifice and solidarity. Her final send-off included moving Pan Africanist revolutionary songs with testimonies that showed she was true to her nursing oath and to her service in the freedom struggle.

May her legacy continue to live on and inspire generations.