Lillian Ngoyi, well-known anti-Apartheid activist, dies

Lillian Ngoyi, well-known anti-Apartheid activist, dies. Credit Notice: Peter Magubane / The Drum Archive / african.pictures

Date: 13 Mar 1980
Updated: 28 Sep 2026

Lillian Ngoyi, well-known anti-Apartheid activist, dies portrait — Lillian Ngoyi, well-known anti-Apartheid activist, dies. Credit Notice: Peter Magubane / The Drum Archive / african.pictures

Anti-Apartheid activist and founder member of the African National Congress Women’s League (ANCWL), Lilian Ngoyi died on 13 March 1980. She was 68 years old. Living as a restricted person at the time, she developed a heart condition and died. Born in Pretoria in 1911, Ngoyi worked as a nurse before she became an activist. She joined the African National Congress (ANC) and eventually helped found the party’s women wing, ANCWL. In 1956, Ngoyi led a march against pass laws for women to the Union Buildings and personally knocked on Prime Minister J.G Strijdom’s door to hand over the petitions. In 2012, a Pretoria street was named in her honour.

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01SAHO Masediba Lilian Ngoyi [online] Available at: www.sahistory.com [Accessed on 28 February 2013]
02Who’s Who Lilian Ngoyi [online] Available at: www.whoswho.co.za [Accessed on 28 February 2013]

Last updated · 28 Sep 2026

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2013, March 7). Lillian Ngoyi, well-known anti-Apartheid activist, dies . South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095246

South African History Online (2013) 'Lillian Ngoyi, well-known anti-Apartheid activist, dies ', South African History Online, 7 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095246 (Accessed: 28 September 2026).

South African History Online, Lillian Ngoyi, well-known anti-Apartheid activist, dies [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095246, (accessed 28 September 2026).

"Lillian Ngoyi, well-known anti-Apartheid activist, dies ." South African History Online, 7 Mar. 2013, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095246. Accessed 28 Sept. 2026.

South African History Online. "Lillian Ngoyi, well-known anti-Apartheid activist, dies ." South African History Online. March 7, 2013. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095246.