On 29th March 1988 Dulcie September was murdered as she opened the ANC Paris office for the day. Many in the UK Anti-Apartheid Movement knew her well and were hugely shocked. Her death came just weeks before 30,000 marched through Glasgow to free Mandela and end apartheid.
South African anti-apartheid activist Dulcie September (1935-1988). She joined APDUSA in 1960 & National Liberation Front (NLF) in January 1963. On 12 July 1963, September’s home was raided by security police & when NLF materials were found, she was detained. September was sentenced to five years imprisonment, during which time she endured severe physical and psychological abuse. She was released in 1969 with a strict five-year banning order under the Pretoria regime. In 1973, as her banning order drew to a close, September applied for a permanent departure permit, having secured a position at Madeley College of Education in Staffordshire. She left South Africa on 19 December 1973. In London, she joined the activities of the Anti-Apartheid Movement and was in the frontline of numerous political rallies and demonstrations at South Africa House in Trafalgar Square. She joined the ANC in 1976 & it was here where she was recognized for her dedication to women's issues and made it her mission to welcome newly exiled South Africans to London. She represented the ANC in many countries. On the morning of 29 March 1988, September was shot 5 times with a silenced .22 caliber rifle outside the ANC's Paris office at 28, Rue des Petites-Écuries, as she was opening the office after collecting the mail. She was 52 years old. Credit: SAHO/Dulcie September Family Archive /Wikipedia/AAM Archives