FILE: EFF leader Julius Malema is greeted by Winnie Mandela during registration ahead of the opening of parliament in Cape Town, 20 May 2014. Picture: Refilwe Modise
Leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters Julius Malema took to Twitter on Monday to express his grief on the passing of his longtime political mentor Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who passed away at 81 after struggling with illness.
He simply uploaded a black screen with emojis of a broken heart and tears.
She once said that Malema would make a good president of the country while he was president of the ANC Youth League. The two were always very close and he saw her as a mother.
One of her final wishes was that he would return to the ANC, though he recently declared he would sooner leave politics than quit the EFF.
Madikizela-Mandela was, like Malema, always on the more radical side of politics and she often expressed her concern that the compromises made by the ANC during the transition to democracy had been too accommodating.
Malema’s grief has been shared by much of South African society, with numerous other public figures and organisations releasing statements and comments of mourning, commiseration and insight.
Most notably, Anglican Archbishop Emeritius Desmond Tutu said she was a symbol of the struggle of apartheid and paid tribute to her in a statement.
Fikile Mbalula wrote: “The passing of Mama Winnie comes as a great shock to all of us. She embodied strength, resistance and an undying spirit of love for freedom. She fought a relentless fight for us to have an equal and just society. Her life was for the service of all African people.”
Take a look at some of the other major reactions below:
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