Winnie ‘wanted to be buried in Bizana’
progress in complying with the order.
Sonke Gender Justice has also weighed in, lambasting the department for its failure to provide any progress updates, as per the court order.
“Throughout this period, various civil society organisations tried to engage the Department of Home Affairs to seek information and updates, but received none,” Marike Keller from the organisation’s policy development and advocacy unit said.
Keller added this was a clear indication the department was in breach of the court’s order. “We reject the Department of Home Affairs’ reasoning for this delay and their complete lack of accountability. The department is currently and remains in breach of the SCA order and is actively defying the rule of law.”
Sonke Gender Justice said they were waiting on Home Affairs to provide official information and would continue to advocate its efforts for the centre’s reopening.
Last month, the Cape Argus sent a list of questions to the department asking why they had not complied with the SCA ruling and why they had refused to open the refugee centre.
Home Affairs said they were waiting for their legal department to respond to the questions. To date, there has been no response. LATE Struggle icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela wanted to be buried next to her parents in Mbhongweni village in Bizana in the Eastern Cape.
Gxaba Madikizela, a relative, told Independent Media yesterday that this was well-known. “We thought she would be buried here next to her parents (Columbus Kokani Madikizela and MaRhadebe Mzaidume),” he said.
However, the 63-year-old ex-mineworker said the family accepted the government’s decision to hold the funeral in Johannesburg. “We can’t change the decision,” he added.
Madikizela-Mandela is to be buried at Fourways Memorial Park, north of Sandton, Johannesburg, on April 14. She has been afforded a special funeral category 1, the highest any civilian in South Africa can be given.
Madikizela’s claim was backed by the former ANC national executive committee member’s childhood friend, Zuziwe Dlamini. At her modest homestead in Mbhongweni, Dlamini said the young Winnie used to steal sweets from her father’s shop for her when they were growing up in the 1940s.
Zanyiwe, as the late former ANC Women’s League president is affectionately known in the picturesque Eastern Cape village, even made Dlamini her “itshikini” (a Xhosa word explaining a popular practice at schools in the former Transkei area in which two pupils declare themselves bosom buddies and shower each other with gifts).
“Zanyiwe used to steal sweets from her family’s shop and we were always together when we went to school choir competitions,” remembered the 82-year-old.
Dlamini said she was at an SA Social Security Agency payment point at a general dealer in the village on Tuesday when she heard about the death of her friend.
She is saddened by the fact that poor health will prevent her from attending her funeral service should it be held in Johannesburg as announced by the government earlier this week.
“I will always remember my friend. Hamba kahle mngan’am, sobonana kwelizayo (Go well my friend, till we meet again in the hereafter).”
While the world outside Mbhongweni came to know Madikizela-Mandela as a fiery and feisty revolutionary, Dlamini said her friend was misunderstood.
“She never fought with anyone in the village,” she said.
Dlamini went to Mbhongweni Primary School which was established by Madikizela-Mandela’s father.
He later set up Ngalonkulu, the only high school in the village.
Dlamini said that they also played netball together.
“We met at Sub B (Grade 2) and were together throughout our primary school years,” said Dlamini.
Dlamini dropped out of school and married in 1950 at the age of 15.
“I stayed at home for a while because there was no one to assist me with pursuing my studies,” she said.
Dlamini said she then lost contact with Madikizela-Mandela but kept in touch with her younger sister Nobantu, one of the two surviving siblings.
“We met again at the funeral of her youngest sibling, Msuthu, and I spoke to her,” she said.
When Madikizela-Mandela last visited her home village in 2014 for the unveiling of the tombstones of her parents, siblings and other relatives, Dlamini could not meet her due to ill health.