Winnie Mandela, the woman South Africans fondly refer to as “Mama Winnie” – Mother of the Nation – will be put to rest next Saturday, as she follows other ANC greats in the struggle against the criminal enterprise otherwise known as apartheid.
Preceded by her former husband Nelson Mandela, and other ANC luminaries like Robert Sobukwe, Oliver Tambo and Chris Hani, Winnie earned her esteemed place in history as a fierce and defiant freedom fighter.
She was arrested on May 12, 1969, Prisoner # 1323/69, one of many other times, and held incommunicado for 491 days. Her body was bruised, but they could not break her spirit or resolve, no matter how much they tortured her.
She was determined, unbowed and stubbornly resilient.
Following Mandela’s arrest and life sentence in 1962, Winnie became the face and voice of the ANC. She more than anybody else in the struggle suffered more humiliation and physical torture.
Married to Mandela in 1958 at a tender age of 23, she really never got to know him well. But she loved him much, and held on that love for the 27 years he was in prison. She knew when she married him, she was marrying the struggle.
In a letter she wrote Mandela from her prison cell on July 2, 1970 she said, “ I recalled with all emotions and affection your reassuring and firm grip as you slipped the ring on my finger. It was not to you only that I said “ I do.” It was to you and all what you stand for. “
She concluded; “ The one without the other would have been incomplete for me.”
Winnie was no angel. She wa simply human: a wife, mother and a beacon of hope for the victims of the vicious system of apartheid. During the time Nelson was silenced, Winnie kept the fire burning. The tears we have seen in South Africa since her passing five days ago are genuine, as the “Rainbow Nation” sends one of its very own to her resting place.
She said it best; “ I am the product of the masses of my country and the product of my enemy.”
She will forever be remembered for her chutzpah and her charisma. But most of all, for her outspokenness. When President Mandela fired her in 1995 as deputy minister of arts, science, culture she shot back saying it was “legally invalid and unconstitutional.” That was vintage Winnie. And before her dismissal was to take effect, she quit.
Not surprisingly, 27 years of separation while Mandela served his life sentence took its toll on their marriage. Scandals and alleged infidelity was the last nail in the coffin, and the messy divorce that followed pained the nation deeply.
But it will be the words of Graca Machel, Mandela’s wife, that the nation will remember this remarkably gorgeous woman and fierce anti apartheid warrior by.
She said; “ Fortunately stars shine brightest during the darkest hours. I know you will continue to illuminate our sky, even through the storms and clouds. Your legacy will be an uplifting beacon from which we can continue to draw guidance and strength during the difficult times.
