Shirley Gunn

Shirley Gunn (born 9 May 1955) is a South African former anti-apartheid activist and Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) member who was falsely accused of the Khotso House bombings in 1998.

Early life and political activism Gunn was born the youngest of five children in the Cape Town suburb of Kenilworth. Her father was a doctor and her mother a nurse. She attended a convent school from age 5 to 18. In 1966 and 1967, Gunn accompanied her mother to various poor communities in Cape Town. From age 17, Gunn assisted her brother who was a doctor at a clinic in Hermanus. Disillusioned by apartheid, she left nursing in 1976 and enrolled at the University of Cape Town (UCT) for a degree in social work.

For her honours degree, Gunn was placed in Hout Bay to do community work. Here she joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1980. She was recruited in the ANC's political underground activities where she helped develop militant strategies. Gunn was then assigned to coordinate the work of the Advice Offices in the Western Cape. While Gunn was still working with the Advice Offices, the first clothing workers’ union strike took place. Gunn mobilised the Advice Offices to support the strike, while simultaneously receiving military training. and a board member on the Khulumani Support Group.