Faith & Defiance: The Life of Sally Motlana

This book is itself a school, which, especially the younger generations, should not miss. 
— Thabo Mbeki, from the Foreword

Spanning nearly 100 years, Faith & Defiance: The Life of Sally Motlana tells the story of one of South Africa’s most eminent women activists and community builders - Sally Bampifeletseng (Maunye) Motlana. Born of humble roots in the old village of Moremela near Pilgrims Rest in the then-Transvaal, Sally grew into a fierce activist and voice of the oppressed who answered the call when she saw all that needed to be done in the struggle for freedom and a democratic South Africa.  As a toddler, Sally moved to Johannesburg with her mother, where they joined her father and lived first in Vrededorp and then Sophiatown. Educated at St Cyprian’s School, she was taken under the wing of esteemed Anglican missionary Father Trevor Huddleston. Profoundly influenced by her religious upbringing, she developed a passionate protectiveness of the poor – especially women and children– and an unquenchable thirst for justice that never diminished during her numerous detentions and harassment by the Security Police. Instead of a straight biography, author Mukoni Ratshitenga has skilfully crafted a riveting account of a
 woman and her country, rich with vignettes and fascinating encounters of great historical significance. One of the many encounters in the book tells how during his hiding from the police for seventeen months before his arrest in 1962, Nelson Mandela, visited Sally at her Dube home and what transpired thereafter. 
Another tells how during one of her spells of detention in 1978 at Jeppe Police station, she came across two Azanian People’s Liberation Army (APLA) combatants who had been detained there after