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| Winnie Madikizela-Mandela to be given state funeral | Winnie Madikizela-Mandela to be given state funeral |
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| Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the hero of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa but also one of its most controversial figures, will be honoured with a state funeral, President Cyril Ramaphosa has said. | Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the hero of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa but also one of its most controversial figures, will be honoured with a state funeral, President Cyril Ramaphosa has said. |
| Madikizela-Mandela, who died on Monday aged 81, was one of the few remaining representatives of the generation of activists who led the fight against apartheid. | Madikizela-Mandela, who died on Monday aged 81, was one of the few remaining representatives of the generation of activists who led the fight against apartheid. |
| Known as “the mother of the nation”, the ex-wife of the former South African president Nelson Mandela had a frequently negative image abroad that contrasted with a deep and long-lasting popularity within her homeland. | |
| On Monday night, crowds of mourners gathered outside Madikizela-Mandela’s home in the Soweto township, a centre of anti-apartheid resistance that remained her base decades after the end of white minority rule. | On Monday night, crowds of mourners gathered outside Madikizela-Mandela’s home in the Soweto township, a centre of anti-apartheid resistance that remained her base decades after the end of white minority rule. |
| Neighbours, supporters and passersby assembled to sing and chant at the gates of her modest two-storey red-brick home in the Orlando neighbourhood shortly after her death was announced. | Neighbours, supporters and passersby assembled to sing and chant at the gates of her modest two-storey red-brick home in the Orlando neighbourhood shortly after her death was announced. |
| Ramaphosa arrived to pay his respects on Monday evening. | |
| “The nation was ill-prepared for her departure and people are grieving very deeply. The death is a great loss on that she has been one of the strongest women in our struggle who suffered immensely … She remained courageous on behalf of the people,” Ramaphosa, who took power in February, said. | “The nation was ill-prepared for her departure and people are grieving very deeply. The death is a great loss on that she has been one of the strongest women in our struggle who suffered immensely … She remained courageous on behalf of the people,” Ramaphosa, who took power in February, said. |
| Tributes continued to pour in on Tuesday and many have paid tribute to Madikizela-Mandela’s long fight for women’s rights. | Tributes continued to pour in on Tuesday and many have paid tribute to Madikizela-Mandela’s long fight for women’s rights. |
| Baleka Mbete and Thandi Modise, parliament’s presiding officers and senior officials in the ruling African National Congress (ANC), issued a statement describing Madikizela-Mandela as “a torch-bearer to gender mainstreaming, and an inspiration to millions of downtrodden women across the length and breadth of the country, across the continent and the world”. | Baleka Mbete and Thandi Modise, parliament’s presiding officers and senior officials in the ruling African National Congress (ANC), issued a statement describing Madikizela-Mandela as “a torch-bearer to gender mainstreaming, and an inspiration to millions of downtrodden women across the length and breadth of the country, across the continent and the world”. |
| The ANC Women’s League, which Madikizela-Mandela once led, said: “She will forever remain an encouraging figure in the fight against patriarchy and male chauvinism in and outside politics.” | The ANC Women’s League, which Madikizela-Mandela once led, said: “She will forever remain an encouraging figure in the fight against patriarchy and male chauvinism in and outside politics.” |
| During Nelson Mandela’s 27-year incarceration, Madikizela-Mandela campaigned tirelessly for his release and for the rights of black South Africans, establishing a massive personal following. Tortured and subjected to repeated house arrest, she was kept under surveillance and, in 1977, banished to a remote town in another province. | |
| As the violence of the apartheid authorities reached new intensity, Madikizela-Mandela was drawn into a world of internecine betrayal, reprisals and atrocity. | As the violence of the apartheid authorities reached new intensity, Madikizela-Mandela was drawn into a world of internecine betrayal, reprisals and atrocity. |
| “We have no guns – we have only stones, boxes of matches and petrol,” she told a township crowd. “Together, hand-in-hand, with our boxes of matches and our necklaces we shall liberate this country.” Necklacing was the term for killing a perceived traitor with a petrol-filled burning tyre around the neck. | “We have no guns – we have only stones, boxes of matches and petrol,” she told a township crowd. “Together, hand-in-hand, with our boxes of matches and our necklaces we shall liberate this country.” Necklacing was the term for killing a perceived traitor with a petrol-filled burning tyre around the neck. |
| Most notoriously, Madikizela-Mandela was found guilty of ordering the kidnapping of a 14-year-old boy, Stompie Seipei, also known as Stompie Moeketsi, who was beaten and later had his throat slit by members of her personal bodyguard in 1989. | Most notoriously, Madikizela-Mandela was found guilty of ordering the kidnapping of a 14-year-old boy, Stompie Seipei, also known as Stompie Moeketsi, who was beaten and later had his throat slit by members of her personal bodyguard in 1989. |
| Within a year, she gave the clenched-fist salute of black power as she walked hand-in-hand with Mandela out of Cape Town’s Victor Verster prison on 11 February 1990. | Within a year, she gave the clenched-fist salute of black power as she walked hand-in-hand with Mandela out of Cape Town’s Victor Verster prison on 11 February 1990. |
| The end of apartheid marked the start of a string of legal and political troubles that, accompanied by tales of her glamorous lifestyle, kept her in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. | The end of apartheid marked the start of a string of legal and political troubles that, accompanied by tales of her glamorous lifestyle, kept her in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. |
| Appearing at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) set up to account for atrocities committed by both sides in the anti-apartheid struggle, Madikizela-Mandela refused to show remorse for abductions and murders carried out in her name. | Appearing at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) set up to account for atrocities committed by both sides in the anti-apartheid struggle, Madikizela-Mandela refused to show remorse for abductions and murders carried out in her name. |
| Only after pleading from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the anguished TRC chairman, did she admit that “things went horribly wrong”. | Only after pleading from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the anguished TRC chairman, did she admit that “things went horribly wrong”. |
| She and Mandela separated in 1992 and her reputation slipped further when he sacked her from his cabinet in 1995 after allegations of corruption. The couple divorced a year later. | She and Mandela separated in 1992 and her reputation slipped further when he sacked her from his cabinet in 1995 after allegations of corruption. The couple divorced a year later. |
| Still popular, in 2008 she took up the cause of immigrants who had come under attack in widespread riots. A year later, she won a parliamentary seat. More recently, she spoke out against official corruption. | Still popular, in 2008 she took up the cause of immigrants who had come under attack in widespread riots. A year later, she won a parliamentary seat. More recently, she spoke out against official corruption. |
| The ANC, in government in South Africa since the 1994 elections, faces a tough election next year. Officials and supporters hope Ramaphosa can reverse the decline in support suffered by the ANC under the previous incumbent, Jacob Zuma. | The ANC, in government in South Africa since the 1994 elections, faces a tough election next year. Officials and supporters hope Ramaphosa can reverse the decline in support suffered by the ANC under the previous incumbent, Jacob Zuma. |
| Madikizela-Mandela’s funeral will take place on 14 April, three days after an official memorial service. | |
| South Africa | South Africa |
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| Cyril Ramaphosa | Cyril Ramaphosa |
| Nelson Mandela | Nelson Mandela |
| Winnie Mandela | Winnie Mandela |
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