Born in 1922, Jerry Dibanhlele Khumalo was a clothing designer and cutter. He served prison sentences as a volunteer in the 1952 Defiance Campaign in Germiston and Wolmaransstad. He was active in the African National Congress (ANC) as a Freedom Volunteer in 1954-1956 and an ANC organiser at the Congress of the People in Kliptown June 1955.
After being released from detention in the 1956 Treason Trial, Khumalo moved to work in Durban, Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal) and continued as an organiser for a textile union and as member of the ANC. He became a resident of Clermont Township in Durban.
He held numerous positions in the Durban structures of the ANC, including being Branch Chairman of the Durban branch; in the same branch as the late Archie Gumede. He was married to Phyllis Luthuli, a close relative of ANC President Chief Albert Luthuli.
He was detained numerous times during Durban worker strikes and during the 1963 Rivonia Trial, until he came out with a kidney failure from detention after a 180 days spell of detention. His children were hounded by the security police. He passed away on 31 December 1976 after a kidney failure, whilst one of his sons was in detention connected to the 1976 Soweto Students Riots. Jerry Dibanhlele Khumalo was buried in Clermont in Durban.
Mbambo, B. (2018). Submission to SAHO from Bheki Mbambo, dated 10 October 2018