from a poor Sotho family in the Free State (province). The wedding took place over two days, with both a Christianceremony in a Presbyterian church in Johannesburg, as well as a traditional wedding where they slaughtered a goat and performed a ceremony more in line with the historical culture of the area. According to tradition, Nomkhitha stopped speaking isiXhosa out of respect for her mother-in-law, unfortunately she was not fluent in Sotho. A few months after the wedding, she gave birth to her first son, Mokete. Nomkhitha returned to live with Letitia a week prior to the birth, and remained there till a month after Mokete's birth. As was tradition in both Sotho and Xhosa customs. Over the course of their marriage, they had 13 children: 11 boys & 2 twin girls. Nomkitha did not plan to have a large family but, like many women of the time, Nomkhitha felt powerless in preventing pregnancy as contraceptives were expensive. Soweto Uprising In 1976, her son Tsietsi Mashinini and daughter Mpho Mashinini led the student uprising against Bantu education in Soweto. As a result of the riots that occurred, four of her sons had to flee from the country. One of whom returned and was tried for conspiring to sabotage the government via a military coup. Due to increased police surveillance, Nomkhitha travelled to Swaziland (since 2018 renamed to Eswatini) in an effort to protect her younger children. Upon her return from Swaziland, she was detained by the South African Police in Standerton on July 1, 1977. Two of her younger sons and Mpho Mashinini were detained on the same day. One of the detained sons, Sydney Mashishi, who was 14 at the time, was tortured and beaten by the police due to his siblings' involvement in the protests. While in police custody, she was kept under solitary confinement. She was frequently interrogated regarding the whereabouts and political activities of her children. She was released from prison without being charged, having been held for seven months. She was fired from her job at Guys and Dolls, due to concerns over her influence on other staff members. She struggled to find employment after her detention in 1976. However she later found employment with Meals on Wheels. Death Nomkhitha died on September 25, 2008. Former President Kgalema Motlanthe paid his respects to her during his first State of the Nation Address on September 28,