Beatrice Thembekile Ngcobo

Beatrice Thembekile Ngcobo (18 July 1943 – 18 February 2018) was a South African politician and activist who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 2004 until her death in 2018. She served the KwaZulu-Natal constituency from 2009 onwards and chaired the Portfolio Committee on Tourism from 2014 to 2018.

Before joining Parliament, Ngcobo served in the Commission for Gender Equality from 1997 to 2004. A nurse by profession, she also taught nursing at the University of Natal and was a prominent activist for the rights of disabled people.

Early life and nursing career Ngcobo was born on 18 July 1943 in Port Shepstone in the former Natal Province. She matriculated at Inanda Seminary, where she was a prefect, and trained as a nurse and midwife at McCord Hospital in Durban. and also lobbied for the establishment of the Disabled Students Forum at her alma mater, the University of Natal.

Legislative career Ngcobo was first elected to the National Assembly in the 2004 general election, although, due to a technicality regarding her eligibility which went unnoticed until 2005, she was not legally sworn in to the seat until 15 September 2005. She was re-elected to her seat in the 2009 and 2014 elections, and from 2009 she represented the KwaZulu-Natal constituency. In her capacity as chairperson, she was admired for insisting on joining committee oversight visits to remote areas that were not easily accessed in a wheelchair, including, shortly before her death, the site of a new lighthouse at Cape Agulhas.

Ngcobo fell ill after undergoing surgery in January 2018 and died on 18 February 2018. Her seat in the National Assembly was filled by Peggy Nkonyeni.