In a letter to the editor of Ilanga in 1957, she called out her royal paternal ancestors: "intombi kaMaphitha, oyisokanqangi lika Ndlokolo kaNkungu kaMepho kaNgwane kaLamula.
When educator and social worker Sibusiswe Makhanya left her teaching position at Adams College in 1923, the administration invited Bhengu to replace her.
[21] In the 1930s, Bhengu launched a Groutville branch of the women's cooperative the Daughters of Africa (DOA)[22] and she was a member of a Congregational mothers’ union group.
[21] Bhengu became active in the anti-apartheid movement and joined the ANC, later reflecting that "I have always treasured the decision I made to throw in my lot with you all in the African National Congress who wish to see Africa become free.
[24][25] She exchanged letters with equal rights activists across the globe, such as the American philanthropist Mary Louise Hooper, who was her friend and correspondent for decades.
In 1953, Bhengu's husband was banned for a year by the government, prohibiting him from attending any political or public gatherings and from entering any major South African cities.
Bhengu served as his representative during this period, couriered messages from him to other banned ANC members, and managed local and international knowledge of his legal status.
"[27] In 1960, Bhengu joined politician and activist Mewa Ramgobin in participating in a five-day fast, in the Gandhian tradition, in protest of the Sharpeville massacre and subsequent banning of anti-apartheid organisations by the state, including the ANC.
[33][34] They both travelled to Norway and he acknowledged his wife in his acceptance speech, delivered at the Great Hall of Oslo University, stating that she richly deserved to share the honour of receiving the prize with him.
[35][36] They used the Nobel prize money to purchase farms in Switzerland which provided shelter for ANC members needing to escape from South Africa.
[37] Luthuli's funeral was arranged in collaboration with the ANC, fashioned a local and global movement against apartheid,[38] and was televised in the United States.
[1] Photographs of Bhengu grieving at her husband's funeral were included in Carol Lazar's 1993 book Women of South Africa: Their Fight for Freedom.
She organised the archiving of his papers, performed the official unveiling of his tombstone and supported the establishment of Luthuli Memorial Foundation (LMF), serving as one of the trustees with Zami Conco, Mary Louise Hooper and Massabalala Yengwa.
"[27] Shortly before Bhengu's death, in 1996, the first black American consul general, Pamela Bridgewater, travelled to visit her in South Africa.