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Winnie Madikizela-Mandela

THE death of anti-apartheid stalwart and ex-wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela — Winnie Madikizela-Mandela — is a huge loss not only to the people of South Africa but the entire African continent. Madikizela-Mandela, who died peacefully at Johannesburg’s Milpark Hospital on Easter Monday after a long illness, was a towering figure during the struggle against apartheid and epitomised the fight against the brutality of the white supremacist Government which incarcerated her husband on Robben Island for 27 years.

During Mandela’s lengthy incarceration, Winnie played a pivotal role not only as mother to their two young daughters but Mother of the Nation of South Africa, particularly the oppressed black majority who were suffering under successive apartheid regimes. Being wife to African National Congress leader Mandela meant that she was a target of abuse by the security services and was at one time jailed and put in solitary confinement in 1969 for her anti-apartheid activism. In 1976 she was arrested during the Soweto Uprising and later banished to the small town of Brandfort in the then Orange Free State.

While Mandela was a giant of the struggle against apartheid, it is people like Winnie and her followers who kept his story alive and fought relentlessly for his release which eventually happened in 1990 leading to the fall of apartheid and the advent of black majority rule.

Despite their acrimonious divorce in 1996, Winnie remained an icon among the poor black people in townships like Soweto and Tembisa where she was known for helping the homeless get houses. Her death, which comes after that of her former husband who passed away on 5 December 2013, brings down the curtain on a romantic story which is so fascinating it has been documented in books and turned into a blockbuster film, the 2013 biopic, Long Walk to Freedom.

Zimbabweans will remember the iconic scenes in Harare on 4 March 1990 when Mandela visited the country following his release from prison on 11 February that year. The country was held spell bound by the man who had refused to be broken by the apartheid system and the image of a smiling Mandela with a beaming Winnie by her side will forever remain indelibly etched in the minds of Zimbabweans.

While South Africans have lost a mother, Zimbabweans and the rest of the world have lost a symbol of defiance, stoicism, courage, fortitude and unstinting loyalty to the cause of the oppressed masses. Despite her documented faults, there is no doubt that Winnie is a national hero in South Africa because of the sterling role she played in fighting apartheid.

The outpouring of emotions which swept through that country when news of her death was announced showed that her appeal cut across political and social divides and she will forever remain a people’s hero. Condolence messages came from opposition parties like the Economic Freedom Fighters while the ruling ANC was at the forefront of consoling her family. Indeed the entire nation was united in mourning a true cadre of the struggle against the evil apartheid machinery.

We commiserate with the people of South Africa and the Madikizela-Mandela family as Winnie belongs to a rare breed of liberation struggle icons who championed the rights of the oppressed black people. We also hail the ANC and Government of South Africa for according her a State funeral befitting of her stature.

We hope the people of South Africa find comfort in that even though Madikizela-Mandela is gone, her legacy lives on in the many accomplishments she achieved during her eventful life. In his televised address to the nation following the death of Madikizela-Mandela, President Cyril Ramaphosa was spot on when he said “Mama Winnie” was an abiding symbol of the desire of our people to be free. “Mama Winnie was a voice of defiance and resistance. In the face of exploitation, she was a champion of justice and equality. Throughout her life, she made an everlasting contribution to the struggle through sacrifice and her unyielding determination,” he said.

“Her dedication to the plight of her people gained her the love and the respect of the nation. For many years, she bore the brunt of senseless brutality of the apartheid state with stoicism and fortitude.

Despite the hardship she faced, she never doubted that the struggle for freedom and democracy would triumph and succeed.” President Ramaphosa said Madikizela-Mandela was a voice for the voiceless urging South Africa to draw inspiration from the struggles that she fought for and the dream of a better society to which she dedicated her entire life. “Today we have lost a mother, a grandmother, a friend, a comrade, a leader, and an icon.

As South Africans, we collectively pass our condolences to the Madikizela and the Mandela families. Your loss is our loss as well. May her Soul Rest in Peace,” he said.