‘Hamba kahle, Mama Winnie’
HOUGHTON – The Nelson Mandela Foundation said they valued her support of the work the foundation does.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation, based in Houghton, mourns the passing of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
A statement released by the foundation following her death read, “Mama Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s passing away is a hard blow for the foundation. She travelled a very long road together with our founder, Nelson Mandela. She was a member of a generation of leaders who survived the most brutal period of state terror in apartheid South Africa and she was a friend of the foundation.”
Chairman of the foundation, Professor Njabulo Ndebele said, “All South Africans are indebted to Mama Winnie, whether they acknowledge it or not. From the witness of her life, we knew we could stand tall; we knew also we could falter and stumble. Either condition was an affirmation of life. Her cry was our cry and in 2018 we can say we did triumph.”
In a tribute to Madikizela-Mandela, the foundation released an additional statement documenting Madikizela-Mandela’s life. The statement read, “Our thoughts are with her daughters Zenani and Zindzi, especially, and with all her family, friends and comrades. We worked with her on a number of projects over the last decade, including the book 491 Days, which drew on the archive of her time as a prisoner. Over the years we have valued her support of our work.
Read: #RIP Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
“She represents a generation of South African leadership that was exposed to the full brutality of the apartheid regime. Unlike her husband, Nelson Mandela, she was subjected to torture while in prison and carried the damage of that ordeal through the rest of her life. The position she found herself in towards the end of the apartheid era was one of relentless and ultimately destructive pressure, on the one hand, the torchbearer for Nelson Mandela during his long imprisonment and under intense media scrutiny, on the other; a leader in underground structures of the ANC and the subject of continuous security and police harassment.
“We will miss her and our country will miss her. Hamba kahle [go well], Mama.”
Details: Nelson Mandela Foundation 011 547 5600.
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Also, read:
‘We sing when we’re hurt’: Sorrow, celebration at Winnie Mandela’s home – VIDEO
