Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the 2011 film of the same name, see Winnie Mandela (film)
| Winnie Mandela | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of South-African Parliament | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office May 2009 | |
| First Lady of South Africa | |
| In office 1994–1996 | |
| Preceded by | Marike de Klerk |
| Succeeded by | Graça Machel |
| Deputy Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology | |
| In office 1994–1996 | |
| Preceded by | none (position established) |
| Succeeded by | Pallo Jordan (Arts and Culture), Derek Hanekom (Science and Technology) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nomzamo Winfreda Zanyiwe Madikizela 26 September 1936 Bizana, Pondoland, Transkei, South Africa |
| Spouse(s) | Nelson Mandela (1958–1996; divorced; 2 children) |
| Children | Zenani (b. 1959) Zindziwa (b. 1960) |
| Alma mater | University of South Africa |
| Profession | Social worker, politician |
| Part of a series on |
| Apartheid in South Africa |
|---|
Although she was still married to Nelson Mandela at the time of his becoming president of South Africa in May 1994, the couple had separated two years earlier. Their divorce was finalised on 19 March 1996,[1] with an unspecified out-of-court settlement. Her attempt to obtain a settlement up to US$5 million, half of what she claimed her ex-husband was worth, was dismissed when she failed to appear in court for a settlement hearing.[2]
A controversial activist, she is popular among her supporters, who refer to her as the 'Mother of the Nation', yet reviled by others after the South African Truth and Reconciliation commission found "Ms Winnie Madikizela Mandela politically and morally accountable for the gross violations of human rights", concluding that she had personally been responsible for the murder, torture, abduction and assault of numerous men, women and children, as well as indirectly responsible for even larger number of such crimes.[3] In March 2009, the Independent Electoral Commission ruled that Madikizela-Mandela, selected as an ANC candidate, could run in the April 2009 general election, despite her suspended jail sentence for fraud.[4]
Contents
[hide]Early life[edit]
 | This section, except for one footnote does not cite any references or sources. (September 2013) |
Marriage/children[edit]
 | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (September 2013) |
Apartheid[edit]
She emerged as a leading opponent of the white minority rule government during the later years of her husband's imprisonment (August 1963 – February 1990). For many of those years, she was exiled to the town of Brandfort in the Orange Free State and confined to the area, except for the times she was allowed to visit her husband at the prison on Robben Island. Beginning in 1969, she spent eighteen months in solitary confinement at Pretoria Central Prison.[6]In a leaked letter to Jacob Zuma in October 2008, just-resigned President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki alluded to the role the ANC had created for her in its anti-apartheid activism:
In the context of the global struggle for the release of political prisoners in our country, our movement took a deliberate decision to profile Nelson Mandela as the representative personality of these prisoners, and therefore to use his personal political biography, including the persecution of his then wife, Winnie Mandela, dramatically to present to the world and the South African community the brutality of the apartheid system.[7]
Criminal Convictions and Findings of Criminal Behaviour[edit]
Her reputation was damaged by such rhetoric as that displayed in a speech she gave in Munsieville on 13 April 1986, where she seemed to endorse the practice of necklacing (burning people alive using tyres and petrol) by saying: "[W]ith our boxes of matches and our necklaces we shall liberate this country."[8] Further tarnishing her reputation were accusations by her bodyguard, Jerry Musivuzi Richardson, that she had ordered kidnapping and murder.[9] On 29 December 1988, Richardson, who was coach of the Mandela United Football Club (MUFC), which acted as Mrs. Mandela's personal security detail, abducted 14-year-old James Seipei (also known as Stompie Moeketsi) and three other youths from the home of a Methodist minister, Rev. Paul Verryn, claiming she had the youths taken to her home because she suspected the reverend was sexually abusing them. The four were beaten to get them to admit to having had sex with the minister. Seipei was accused of being an informer, and his body later found in a field with stab wounds to the throat on 6 January 1989.[10][11]In 1991, she was convicted of kidnapping and being an accessory to assault in connection with the death of Seipei. Her six-year jail sentence was reduced to a fine on appeal. The final report of the South African Truth and Reconciliation commission, issued in 1998, found "Ms Winnie Madikizela Mandela politically and morally accountable for the gross violations of human rights committed by the MUFC."It concluded that she had personally been directly responsible for the murder, torture, abduction and assault of numerous men, women and children, as well as indirectly responsible for even larger number of such crimes. [3] In 1992, she was accused of ordering the murder of Dr. Abu-Baker Asvat, a family friend who had examined Seipei at Mandela's house, after Seipei had been abducted but before he had been killed.[12] Mandela's role was later probed as part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, in 1997.[13] She was said to have paid the equivalent of $8,000 and supplied the firearm used in the killing, which took place on 27 January 1989.[14] The hearings were later adjourned amid claims that witnesses were being intimidated on Winnie Mandela's orders.[15]
Transition to democracy[edit]
She remained extremely popular among many ANC supporters, however. In December 1993 and April 1997, she was elected president of the ANC Women's League, although she withdrew her candidacy for ANC Deputy President at the movement's Mafikeng conference in December 1997. Earlier in 1997, she appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Archbishop Desmond Tutu as chairman of the commission recognised her importance in the anti-apartheid struggle, but exhorted her to apologise and to admit her mistakes. In a guarded response, she admitted "things went horribly wrong".[17]
Legal problems[edit]
On 24 April 2003, Winnie Mandela was found guilty on 43 counts of fraud and 25 of theft, and her broker, Addy Moolman, was convicted on 58 counts of fraud and 25 of theft. Both had pleaded not guilty to the charges, which related to money taken from loan applicants' accounts for a funeral fund, but from which the applicants did not benefit. Madikizela-Mandela was sentenced to five years in prison.[18] Shortly after the conviction, she resigned from all leadership positions in the ANC, including her parliamentary seat and the presidency of the ANC Women's League.[19] In July 2004, an appeal judge of the Pretoria High Court ruled that "the crimes were not committed for personal gain". The judge overturned the conviction for theft, but upheld the one for fraud, handing her a three years and six months suspended sentence.[20]In June 2007, the Canadian High Commission in South Africa declined to grant Winnie Mandela a visa to travel to Toronto, Canada, where she was scheduled to attend a gala fundraising concert organised by arts organisation MusicaNoir, which included the world premiere of The Passion of Winnie, an opera based on her life.[21]
Return to politics[edit]
When the ANC announced the election of its National Executive Committee on 21 December 2007, Mandela placed first with 2845 votes.[22][23]Apology to riot victims[edit]
Madikizela criticised the anti-immigrant violence in May–June 2008 that began in Johannesburg and spread throughout the country, and blamed the government's lack of suitable housing provisions for the sentiments behind the riots.[24] She apologised to the victims of the riots[25] and visited the Alexandra township. She offered her home as shelter for an immigrant family from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She warned that the perpetrators of the violence could strike at the Gauteng train system.[26]2009 general election[edit]
Madikizela-Mandela secured fifth place on the ANC's electoral list for the 2009 general election, behind party president and current President of South Africa Jacob Zuma, former President of South Africa Kgalema Motlanthe, Deputy President of South Africa Baleka Mbete, and Finance Minister Trevor Manuel. An article in The Observer suggested her position near the top of the list indicated that the party's leadership saw her as a valuable asset in the election with regard to solidifying support among the party's grassroots and the poor.[27]2010 interview with Nadira Naipaul[edit]
In 2010, Madikizela-Mandela was interviewed by Nadira Naipaul. In the interview, she attacked her ex-husband, claiming that he had "let blacks down", claiming that he was only "wheeled out to collect money", and that he is "nothing more than a foundation". She further attacked his decision to accept the Nobel Peace Prize with FW De Klerk. Among other things, she reportedly claimed Mandela was no longer "accessible" to her daughters. She referred to Archbishop Tutu, in his capacity as the head of the Truth and Reconciliation commission, as a "cretin".[28]The interview attracted media attention,[29][30] and the ANC announced that it would ask her to explain her comments regarding Nelson Mandela.[31] On 14 March 2010 a statement was issued on behalf of Winnie Mandela claiming that the interview was a "fabrication".[32]
In media[edit]
Mandela was first portrayed by Alfre Woodard in the TV movie Mandela. Tina Lifford portrayed her in the 1997 TV drama Mandela and de Klerk. Sophie Okonedo portrayed her in the BBC drama Mrs Mandela, first broadcast on BBC Four on 25 January 2010.[33] Jennifer Hudson played her in Winnie Mandela, directed by Darrell Roodt, released in Canada by D Films on 16 September 2011. Roodt, Andre Pieterse, and Paul L. Johnson based the film's script on Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob's biography, Winnie Mandela: A Life.[34] The Creative Workers Union of South Africa opposed the choice of Hudson in the title role, saying the use of foreign actors to tell the country's stories undermined efforts to develop the national film industry.[35][36]Mandela was again portrayed in the 2013 film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom by actress Naomie Harris. British actor Idris Elba portrayed her ex-husband Nelson Mandela
No comments:
Post a Comment