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Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (born 26 September 1936 as Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela) is a South African politician who has held several government positions and headed the African National Congress Women's League. She is currently a member of the ANC's National Executive Committee. Although still married to Nelson Mandela at the time of his becoming president of South Africa in May 1994, she was never the first lady of South Africa, as the couple had separated two years earlier after revelations that Winnie had been unfaithful after Nelson's release from prison in February 1990. The final divorce went through on 19 March 1996. As a controversial activist, she is popular among her supporters, who refer to her as the 'Mother of the Nation', yet reviled by others, mostly due to her alleged involvement in several human rights abuses, including the torture and murder of 14-year old Stompie Moeketsi in 1989.[1] In March 2009, the Independent Electoral Commission ruled that Winnie Mandela, who was selected as an ANC candidate, could run in the April 2009 general election, despite having a fraud conviction.[2]
[edit] Biography[edit] Early yearsHer Xhosa name is Nomzamo. Nomzamo means "the one who tries". She was born in the village of Mbongweni[3], Bizana, in the Pondo region of what is now South Africa's Eastern Cape Province. She held a number of jobs in various parts of what was then the Bantustan of Transkei, including with the Transkei government, living at various times in Bizana, Shawbury, and Johannesburg. She met lawyer and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela in 1957. They were married in 1958 and had two daughters, Zenani (b.1959) and Zindzi (b.1960). She is a diabetic.[4] [edit] EducationDespite restrictions on education of blacks during apartheid, she earned a degree in social work from the Jan Hofmeyer School in Johannesburg, and several years later earned a bachelor's degree in international relations from the University of Witwatersrand, also in Johannesburg. [edit] ApartheidShe emerged as a leading opponent of the white minority rule government during the later years of her husband's long 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. During the 1980s as well as the early 1990s, she attracted immense national and international media attention and was interviewed by many foreign journalists as well as national journalists such as Jani Allan, then Leading Columnist of the South African Sunday Times. In a leaked letter to Jacob Zuma in October 2008, just-resigned President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki alluded to the role the ANC created for her in the anti-apartheid struggle:
[edit] Violent rhetoric and murder allegationsHer reputation was damaged by what many considered her sometimes bloodthirsty rhetoric, the most noteworthy example of this being a speech she gave in Munsieville on 13 April 1985, where she endorsed the practice of necklacing (burning people alive using tyres and petrol) in the struggle to end apartheid. She said, "with our boxes of matches and our necklaces we shall liberate this country".[6] Further tarnishing her reputation were accusations by her bodyguard, Jerry Richardson, that Winnie Madikizela-Mandela ordered him to abduct and kill an alleged informer, 14 year old James Seipei (also known as Stompie Moeketsi) in January 1989. This incident became a cause célèbre for the apartheid government. 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. [edit] Post-apartheidDuring South Africa's transition to democracy, she adopted a far less conciliatory attitude than her husband toward the previously dominant white community. Despite being on her husband's arm when he was released in 1990, the first time the two had been seen in public for nearly thirty years, the Mandelas' 38-year marriage ended in separation (April 1992) and divorce (March 1996). She then adopted the surname Madikizela-Mandela. Appointed Deputy Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology in the first post-Apartheid government (May 1994), she was dismissed eleven months later following allegations of corruption.[7] She remained popular among many ANC supporters, and, in December 1993 and April 1997, she was elected president of the ANC Women's League, though she withdrew her candidacy for ANC Deputy President at the movement's Mafikeng conference in December 1997. In 1997, she appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Archbishop Desmond Tutu as chair of the commission recognised her importance in the anti-apartheid struggle, but also begged her to apologize and to admit her mistakes. In a guarded response, she echoed his words, admitting that "things went horribly wrong". [edit] Fraud convictionOn 24 April 2003, she 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.[8] 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.[9] In late 2003, her close friend and socialite Hazel Crane was murdered. Crane previously offered to buy Madikizela-Mandela a house.[10] 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.[11] [edit] Visa denial by Canada
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 organization MusicaNoir, which including the world premiere of The Passion of Winnie, an opera based on her life.[12] [edit] Return to politicsWhen the ANC announced the election of its National Executive Committee on 21 December 2007, Mandela placed first with 2845 votes.[13][14] [edit] Apology to riot victimsMandela criticized 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.[15] She also apologized to the victims of the riots[16] and visited the Alexandra township.[17] She also offered her home as a shelter for an immigrant family from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[18] She warned that the perpetrators of the violence could strike at the Gauteng train system.[19] [edit] 2009 general electionMandela 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 than 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.[20] [edit] Film and television portrayalTina Lifford portrays Mandela in the 1997 TV drama Mandela and De Klerk.[21] Sophie Okonedo portrays Mandela in the BBC television one-off drama Mrs Mandela, due for broadcast in 2009.[22] Jennifer Hudson will play her in an upcoming biopic set to start filming in May 2010. Jennifer Hudson has been cast to portray Mandela in the biopic film "Winnie", to be directed by Darrell J. Roodt. Andre Pieterse, Roodt and Paul L. Johnson based the film's script based on the Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob biography "Winnie Mandela: A Life".[23] [edit] References
Categories: 1936 births | Living people | Spouses of national leaders | Anti-apartheid activists | South African activists | South African women in politics | South African politicians with criminal convictions | Rectors of the University of Glasgow | Nelson Mandela | Xhosa people | Convicted Criminals | Members of the National Assembly of South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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