Winnie Mandela

• Born: September 26, 1936
• Birthplace: Bizana, Transkei, South Africa
• Died: April 2, 2018
• Place of death: Johannesburg, South Africa

South African anti-apartheid activist and politician

Also known as: Winifred Nkosikazi Nobandle Nomzamo Madikizela Mandela (full name); Nomzamo Winifred Madikizela (birth name); Nkosikazi Nobandle Nomzamo Madikizela (full Xhosa name); Mother of the Nation

Early Life

The fifth of her parents’ eight children, Winnie Mandela, born Winnie Madikizela, grew up in a religious family. She was trained in Johannesburg as a medical social worker and had an active working career at the Baragwanath Hospital prior to her joining the African National Congress (ANC), a center-left political party that fought against white minority rule (known as apartheid). In 1958, she married Nelson Mandela, an anti-apartheid political activist who at times resorted to violence in order to fight for equality and justice for South African black citizens. When her husband was arrested for high treason in 1962 and subsequently imprisoned for more than two decades, Madikizela-Mandela, the mother of two young children, embraced the anti-apartheid struggle fully. As the new symbolic figure for the ANC’s cause, she became a target of constant police surveillance and harassment. Her good works among the poor also won her considerable respect, and she came to be known as the Mother of the Nation.

In the late 1980’s, Madikizela-Mandela was accused of ordering her bodyguard to assault and kidnap a fourteen-year-old ANC activist named Stompie Seipei; he was later found murdered. The murder, ostensibly carried out by the members of the Mandela United Football Club, was allegedly accomplished under the orders of Madikizela-Mandela. She also stood accused of eight other murders, including the assassination of her personal physician and friend Dr. Abu Baker Asvat, who witnessed the beating of Seipei and refused to side with her on the incident. Although Madikizela-Mandela was convicted in 1991 for the kidnapping and subsequent death of Seipei, her prison sentence was reduced to a fine, and she was never brought before the law for her alleged roles in the other murders.

Political Career

Madikizela-Mandela’s political career received a boost in the decades that her husband remained in prison. However, her political activism led her to be imprisoned or banished to several locations over the years. After apartheid was dismantled in 1990 and her husband was released from jail, she was awarded with a political appointment as deputy minister for arts, culture, science, and technology in the post-apartheid regime headed by her husband.

However, her tenure as a deputy minister in the cabinet was quite turbulent, and she was fired after less than a year in office for ignoring party discipline and for allegations of corruption. Many saw her actions and rhetoric as less conciliatory toward the former white regime than that of her husband. Nelson and Winnie separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996. Madikizela-Mandela continued to retain her position as the head of the ANC’s Women’s League and her membership in parliament. However, she had to give up both positions in 2003 when she was convicted of charges of theft and fraud. The charges related to her participation in a scheme that used ANC stationery to secure loans for nonexistent Women’s League employees. She appealed the conviction. In 2004, her original sentence of five years was reduced to three and a half years, and she had the sentence suspended for five years. Her conviction for theft was also overturned. In arriving at this decision, the judge affirmed that Madikizela-Mandela had had a long and difficult role in public life and that she had in the past supported a cause greater than her own.

Impact

Winnie Mandela remained a controversial and charismatic figure. In 1997, she was arraigned before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was led by Bishop Desmond Tutu, to answer to charges of terrorizing Sowetans with her bodyguards in the twilight days of apartheid. The commission had been set up by the government to investigate apartheid-era human rights violations and to promote reconciliation.

Several victims testified to the brutality that they or their loved ones had suffered at the hands of Madikizela-Mandela and her bodyguards. It was discovered that she had been aware of, and in several instances took part in, the terror inflicted on people by her bodyguards. Although Winnie continued to remain popular with the masses, she lost her exalted position in the ruling ANC.

Madikizela-Mandela's work to help end apartheid, however, was not forgotten, and in 2016, she was awarded the Silver Order of Luthuli by the South African government. She died on April 2, 2018, due to an illness.

Bibliography

Bezdrob, Anne Marie du Preez. Winnie Mandela: A Life. Cape Town, South Africa: Zebra Press, 2003. An in-depth biography that explores and reveals Mandela’s personal and political life.

Cowell, Alan. "Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Is Dead at 81; Fought Apartheid." The New York Times, 2 Apr. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/04/02/world/africa/winnie-mandela-dead.html. Accessed 19 Nov. 2018.

Gilbey, Emma. The Lady: The Life and Times of Winnie Mandela. London: Jonathan Cape, 1993. A comprehensive volume that traces Mandela’s involvement in political struggles and her subsequent experiences, up to the period of being an accessory to violence.

Meltzer, Milton. Winnie Mandela: The Soul of South Africa. New York: Viking Kestrel, 1988. Covers the early life of Mandela and her struggles for equality. Highlights her rise in power and gives readers a sense of her personality and political career.

Sampson, Anthony. Mandela: The Authorized Biography. New York: Knopf, 1999. Reflects on the life of Nelson Mandela. Draws extensively on interviews with Winnie Mandela.