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Winnie Madikizela-Mandela

Cape Town – The ANC yesterday sent its “revolutionary well wishes” to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela as she celebrated her 80th birthday.

ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said Comrade Winnie was a “fearless freedom fighter, stalwart of our movement and mother of the nation”.

She remained the embodiment of the resilience and tenacity of South Africans. “As a movement and a people, the ANC owes an enormous debt of gratitude to Cde Winnie and her generation of freedom fighters who were an unshakeable mark and unwavering beacon of hope during the darkest days of our history.”

She was resolute when the release of political prisoners, the return of exiles and freedom seemed unrealistic. “Her selflessness and dedication kept the vision of freedom alive and added further pressure which ultimately saw the defeat of the apartheid regime.”

The party wished her health and many more years of life.

Madikizela-Mandela was born in the Eastern Cape in 1936.

Celebrations for her milestone started earlier this month, with a birthday dinner at the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town, attended by political bigwigs such as Cyril Ramaphosa and Julius Malema.

This was followed by a concert in her honour at the Artscape Theatre.

President Jacob Zuma thanked her yesterday for remaining unwavering in standing with the poor and downtrodden.

“We are grateful for the gift of your life. We wish you a happy, warm, enjoyable birthday today. May you have many more and continue to serve as an inspiration to the whole nation, especially the youth,” he said.

Meanwhile, Madikizela-Mandela said voting on Wednesday made her remember “those who are no longer with us”.

Moving slowly due to recent knee operations, she was in a pensive mood after casting her ballot in the small classroom, amid a media scrum and ululations from local and provincial African National Congress activists accompanying her. “To me the struggle was all about the right to vote and the right to have a choice, and that South Africans must choose a government they deserve,” she said.

“Of course, every time I put that cross on the paper I think of all those who are not here with us and those who didn’t make it back home and gave up their lives for the struggle.

“Although it is a wonderful thing to vote, at the same time it is a very painful process and you remember the number of those who have lost their lives and who are no longer with us, and they contributed so much to the history of this country and we ought to remember them every time we put that cross on that piece of paper.”

Today’s elections are the second in South Africa after the death of Madikizela-Mandela’s former husband, Nelson Mandela, in December 2013. The ANC and the Democratic Alliance invoked his name during their election campaigns, both in 2014 and this year, giving rise to a debate on who the rightful heirs to his legacy were.

Madikizela-Mandela had been outspoken about the violence in the lead-up to the elections. “I really pray that that has come to an end,” she said when asked about the violence. “This was no time for skop, skiet and donner elections. There was no reason whatsoever for the type of violence we have seen in 2016. It is an utter disgrace and a very bad reflection on South Africa and I think we all feel very, very bad about it, all South Africans.” — Sapa