South African anti-apartheid stalwart, Nomzamo Winifred Madikizela-Mandela has died on Monday, 02 April 2018. She died at the age of 81 after a long illness. Madikizela-Mandela had been in and out of hospital since the start of the year.
“She succumbed peacefully in the early hours of Monday afternoon surrounded by her family and loved ones,” the family said in a statement.
Winnie Mandela, as she was affectionately known was born in Bizana in the Eastern Cape in 1936‚ she then moved to Johannesburg to study social work after matriculating.
In 1957 she met lawyer and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela and they were married a year later. They had two children together. Her marriage life with Mandela was short-lived‚ as he was arrested in 1963 and sentenced to life imprisonment for treason. Mandela was eventually released in 1990.
During Mandela’s time in prison, Madikizela-Mandela was not spared the reach of the apartheid forces. She was placed under house arrest and at one time banished to Brandfort‚ a town in the Free State.
The couple divorced in 1996‚ 37 years after their marriage.
In 1994‚ Madikizela-Mandela became an MP and was appointed deputy minister of arts and culture. She had been an MP ever since‚ despite limited appearances in Parliament in the past few years. Madikizela Mandela remained a member of the African National Congress (ANC) throughout her life.
Here are some tributes from people on Twitter:
14th June 1964 just after the Rivonia Treason Trial was the day a young Winnie Mandela took a conscious decision to continue the liberation struggle. Our duty is to keep her name and revolutionary memory alive for generations to come.
#WinnieMandela pic.twitter.com/G0BOELNkV6— KatlehoMK (@KatlehoMK) April 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/NickolausBauer/status/
Rest In Peace #WinnieMandela ⁰Go with love. Go with God… your fight for human rights will continue. pic.twitter.com/7A7wdtf3oK
— Forest Whitaker (@ForestWhitaker) April 2, 2018
Things @lebomashile told me about #WinnieMandela.
She was the first Black person in South Africa to qualify as a social worker.
When she married Nelson at 23 (he was 40), her father, seeing Nelson was jail-bound, demanded a pre-nup (another South African 1st) to protect her.
— 🎒Shailja #FreePalestine Patel (@shailjapatel) April 2, 2018
The Mother of the Nation
●spent 491 days in solitary confinement
●was placed under house arrest,
●banned to Brandford
●taken away from her family
●subjected to most cruel treatmentYou are hailed as a hero! #RIPWinnieMandela #WinnieMandela pic.twitter.com/GMsiUnG5ur
— Christo 🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦 (@ChristoThurston) April 2, 2018
A struggle icon and a darling of revolution who stoop up against injustices imposed by apartheid has passed away. Winnie Madikizela-Madela faced up to the challenges of today, remained steadfast & spectacularly unbowed to resolve divisive vestiges of the past. #RIPWinnieMandela pic.twitter.com/b6m2SQm3Rq
— Stanley Ncobela (@stanleyncobela) April 2, 2018
Interview with #WinnieMadikizelaMandela. Listen to some of the pain she endured. As #AmbassadorAndrewYoung aptly told me today, "Winnie holds the record for suffering." I cried many times during the interview. It was tough to hear. https://t.co/CIKpwfeh85
— Felicia Mabuza-Suttle (@Feliciamabuza) April 2, 2018
"There is no longer anything I can fear. There is nothing the apartheid government has not done to me. There isn't any pain I haven't known."
– #WinnieMadikizelaMandela. Rest in peace and power qhawe lama qhawe. Your courage was incomparable. pic.twitter.com/IDntMZWKlr— Khanyi Dhlomo (@KhanyiDhlomo) April 2, 2018
Today South Africa lost our mother. My deepest condolences to family of Mam Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, loved ones and all our country. 🇿🇦❤#WinnieMandela #WinnieMadikizelaMandela pic.twitter.com/fvmS7PBegW
— Ulrich Janse van Vuuren (@UlrichJvV) April 2, 2018
Hamba kahle Mam Winnie. Your life taught us that history is never neat. May we always remember you. #WinnieMadikizelaMandela pic.twitter.com/OYWlOCzDXx
— Khadija Patel (@khadijapatel) April 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/Thando_Thabethe/status/980817441264562178
By Fundisiwe Maseko
Follow Fundisiwe Maseko on Twitter
Follow IT News Africa on Twitter
