South Africans are Remembering the Late Anti-Apartheid Veteran Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
Today marks a year since her death.
Last year, the "Mother of the Nation", Winnie Madikizela-Mandela,passed away after being ill for some time. South Africans were in mourning as they bid farewell to a woman who had fought her entire life for the liberation of Black people and consequently endured all manner of torture by the Apartheid regime.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, ex-wife to the late struggle hero Nelson Mandela, was an unapologetic and militant freedom fighter. She was political way before she married Mandela. However, her contribution to South Africa's democracy was overshadowed by what many South Africans have come to know as Stratcom, a group during Apartheid whose sole purpose was to spread misinformation and carry out smear campaigns of the leaders of underground opposition parties.
In Madikizela-Mandela's case, this is said to have been evident in the controversial trial where she was accused of killing a teenage activist named Stompie Seipei. Although she was found not guilty and Jerry Richardson was instead charged and sentenced for Stompie's murder, the occurrence of the trial itself followed her negatively for the rest of her life.
In efforts to continue to honor the late anti-Apartheid struggle veteran, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have been spearheading the motion to have Cape Town International Airport named after Madikizela-Mandela. After a major road was namedafter the struggle hero earlier this year, the motion to rename Cape Town International Airport may not be too out of reach.
Described as a figure of tremendous strength and resilience, South Africans everywhere are remembering Madikizela-Mandela today and all that she meant to each of them personally.
READ: A Tribute to the Late Apartheid Struggle Veteran, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela