Winnie Madikizela-Mandela will be remembered as a feisty and vocal freedom fighter, the United Democratic Movement (UDM) said on Monday.
“Today, we say goodbye to a woman who will be remembered as a feisty and vocal freedom fighter who did not hesitate to speak her mind; she certainly stirred lively debate wherever she went,” said party leader Bantu Holomisa.
He said after the Rivonia trial, Winnie became former president Nelson Mandela’s public face during his 27 years of imprisonment.
“She also sacrificed almost three decades of her life during which she and uTata [Nelson Mandela] should have been free to go about their daily lives as a normal family with human rights and civil liberties. But that was not this couple’s fate; they had a higher calling,” Holomisa said.
“She was herself never deterred from playing the role she had to; which saw her go to jail several times and she found herself harshly exiled in Brandfort. Often were her children ripped from her arms whilst the security forces found reasons to apprehend her.”
Born Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela on September 26, 1936 , Madikizela-Mandela died at the Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg on April 2, 2018. She was 81.
South Africans share their thoughts on Winnie Madikizela-Mandela:
Mama Winnie Mandela’s life also shows us how disposable black women are to black men. We’re only relevant when we can serve as their protest cows. As soon as they’re done, you’re a demon. A feminazi.
— N (@Chimurengs) April 2, 2018
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
Lala Ngoxolo, Mama. You were strong when most would be weak. You did more for South Africa than most will ever admit. The true mother of our nation….Hamba Kahle #WinnieMandela ❤️✊🏾 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/fz0HqUMWyU
— Nickolaus Bauer (@NickolausBauer) April 2, 2018
A hero, a mother and a legend has passed on. Her legacy will live on and we will remember her as the mother of the nation. We salute you Mother Winnie Mandela. Rest in Peace great soul, Winnie Madikizela Mandela👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 #RIPWinnieMandela #WinnieMandela pic.twitter.com/QhsddUfP36
— Christo (@ChristoThurston) April 2, 2018
The end of an era. There can never be another like her. A warrior, a fighter, a mother, a force, a rock, a movement! #WinnieMandela
— MADIKIZELA✊🏾🖤 (@ramichuene) April 2, 2018
I see @eNCA have edited that #WinnieMandela promo about being ‘law breaker, abuser, etc’. Someone got really excited ne? Let’s stick to Freedom Fighter and Mother of the Nation. Thank you
— MADIKIZELA✊🏾🖤 (@ramichuene) April 2, 2018
We’re devastated to learn the news of the passing of the Mother of our nation, one of the great architects of our liberation struggle, iqhawe lamaqhawe uMama #WinnieMandela. In our darkest hour she illuminated the torch of hope through her tireless commitment to freedom & justice pic.twitter.com/91RO3zrjx0
— Min. Nathi Mthethwa (@NathiMthethwaSA) April 2, 2018
RIP #WinnieMandela i have never known a woman so fierce and strong in standing up against injustice. You fought an incredible fight 💔❤️ pic.twitter.com/8SfRdvnsgZ
— Audrey Chimwanda (@AudreyChimwanda) April 2, 2018
Without #WinnieMandela the world would’nt have known about the injustice of #aparthied in #SouthAfrica When @NelsonMandela was incarcerated in Robben Island She was the Voice & Face of the Freedom struggle-the Mother of our Nation An icon-Defiant until the end! #RIPWinnieMandela pic.twitter.com/472AA5anar
— Yvonne Chaka Chaka (@YvonneChakaX2) April 2, 2018
– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Devereaux Morkel
