[2] Around that time she was working with Reverend Beyers Naudé to set up a scholarship fund to educate anti-apartheid activists to become an effective corps of public servants.

[10] She was subsequently forced to quit her position as Safety and Security MEC after a commission of inquiry reported a "strong suspicion" that she had covered up a car accident while driving without a licence.

[11] Duarte admitted to having driven a car without a license but maintained that it was people in her department who had put out the claim that it was a bodyguard driving at the time.

[7] In 2009 she featured in the news for two recorded diatribes launched against journalists Philani Nombembe of the Sunday Times[15] and John Humphrys of BBC Radio.

[14] She later voiced support for the ANC's plans for a Media Appeals Tribunal in South Africa[12] which faced criticism as being political interference with free speech and possibly unconstitutional.

[23] In 2019, she accused the ANC, the majority ruling party in South Africa, of being "racist" and "tribalistic" towards members and voters who are not black Africans.

After false claims of her death circulated on social media in the wake of her absence from public party events, Duarte revealed on 24 April 2022 that she had cancer.

[3][8][4][36][37] Her funeral was held in accordance with Muslim rites later that same day, with the eulogy delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa; she was buried at Westpark Cemetery.