Winnie Madikizela-Mandela ‚ a stalwart in the fight against apartheid in South Africa‚ has died at the age of 81 after a battle with kidney infection which became severe since January.
While her hallowed place in the pantheon of South Africa’s liberators is unquestionable, and one of Africa’s most revered daughter, it was however tainted by scandal over corruption, kidnapping, murder and the implosion of her marriage to Nelson Mandela.
In a statement issued by the family, confirming her death at Netcare Milpark Hospital‚ Johannesburg‚ South Africa, she was said to have died surrounded by her family and loved ones.
A report by the South African Broadcasting Corporation said she had been in admission at the hospital over the weekend, complaining of the flu after she attended a church service on Friday while also undergoing treatment for diabetes and major surgeries.
Born in Bizana in the Eastern Cape, South Africa in 1936‚ she later moved to Johannesburg to study social work, where she eventually met lawyer and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela in 1957 and they were married a year later.
However‚ her marriage to Mandela was short-lived‚ after Mandela was arrested in 1963 and sentenced to life imprisonment for treason. Mandela was eventually released in 1990.
During Mandela’s time in prison‚ Winne 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.
According to the statement of her death by the family, “Winne kept the memory of her imprisoned husband Nelson Mandela alive during his years on Robben Island and helped give the struggle for justice in South Africa one its most recognisable faces, dedicating most of her adult life to the cause of the people which gave her the name Mother of the Nation.”
But for Madikizela-Mandela, the end of apartheid marked the start of a string of legal and political troubles that, accompanied by tales of her glamorous living, kept her in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
As evidence emerged in the dying years of apartheid of the brutality of her Soweto enforcers, the “Mandela United Football Club” (MUFC), her nickname switched from “Mother of the Nation” to “Mugger”.
Blamed for the killing of activist Stompie Seipei, who was found near her Soweto home with his throat cut, she was convicted in 1991 of kidnapping and assaulting the 14-year-old because he was suspected of being an informer.
Her six-year jail term was reduced on appeal to a fine.
Her marriage to Mandela began to flounder a few years after his release.
A letter she purportedly wrote to her young lover found its way into the newspapers.
In his book Odyssey to Freedom‚ veteran advocate George Bizos described how Mandela would not attend legal consultations Bizos had with Madikizela-Mandela during the Seipei trial.
“He drew the line at attending our consultations‚ primarily because these meetings were also attended by the young lawyer … her lover during the latter part of Nelson’s imprisonment and after he was released‚” Bizos wrote in his book.
The couple divorced in 1996‚ 37 years after their marriage.
After the first democratic election in 1994‚ Madikizela-Mandela became an MP and was appointed deputy minister of arts and culture. She was fired by Mandela after an unauthorised trip to Ghana.
She had been an MP ever since‚ despite limited appearances in Parliament in the past few years.
In 2016‚ she was conferred an Order of Luthuli in Silver during the National Orders Awards ceremony for her excellent contribution to the fight for the liberation of the people of South Africa.
As news of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s death spread on Monday afternoon, South Africans inundated social media with tributes to the political stalwart with many describing her as the true hero after Nelson for her role on ending apartheid.
“We will never forget your role in changing our future we are forever grateful to you” a South African @Jonson wrote on his twitter handle.
@akaworldwide added RIP in peace Mama South Africa.
“You were strong when we couldn’t be. You were a rage that sometimes burned too brightly and you showed us how to be brave and be our fearsome best. Lion, Warrior, Mother,” said @Sisonkemsimang.
Others felt she has not been properly respected for her efforts in ending apartheid in the country, “She sacrificed her family, raising her children, her health, her marriage, her career, her education, her community … only to be shunned we will NEVER forget you Mama. Our true liberator,” @VusiThembekwayo wrote.
DAVID IBEMERE
