Mrs. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, a veteran of
the anti-apartheid struggle and wife of the late former South African president,
Mr. Nelson Mandela, is dead. She was 81.
Her PA‚ Zodwa Zwane‚ confirmed the ant-
apartheid struggle veteran’s death on Monday afternoon. She said the family
would issue a statement later in the day.
Born in
Bizana in the Eastern Cape in 1936‚ Nomzamo
Winifred Madikizela-Mandela moved to Johannesburg
She met
lawyer and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela in 1957 and they were married
a year later.
They had two children together.
 |
| *Nelson and Winnie Mandela and his release from prison |
However‚
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
In 1969‚
Madikizela-Mandela became one of the first detainees under Section 6 of the
notorious Terrorism Act of 1967.
She was detained for 18 months in solitary
confinement in a condemned cell at Pretoria Central Prison before being charged
under the Suppression of Communism Act of 1950.
The Mandelas,
however, 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
- Historical details courtesy of Times Live
No comments:
Post a Comment