Winnie remains an inspiration
YESTERDAY thousands of mourners and well-wishers gathered at Orlando Stadium for the official memorial service of the late Winnie Madikizela-Mandela who died last week.
It was a fitting tribute as the various speakers spoke glowingly of the mother of the nation. It was also a poignant moment which revealed the connectedness between Madikizela-Mandela and the poor people of our country. Yesterday South Africans from all walks of life were united in grief as they remembered the woman who had touched the lives of millions.
The choice of Orlando Stadium was also not a coincidence as Madikizela-Mandela had remained committed and loyal to the people of Soweto. She still lived in Orlando even though she could have moved to the former whites-only suburbs as did other prominent politicians after 1994. Yet she chose to keep her home, which continued to draw visitors from far and wide – keeping Soweto on the map.
Speaking at the memorial service, Deputy President David Mabuza described Madikizela-Mandela thus: “She was the friend of the workers of our land. She would not dare humiliate the poor when they wanted help from her. In all her fame and glory, she remained a village girl.
“Around our country, numerous informal settlements bear the name of Mama Winnie Mandela because of the struggles she fought.”
This is an apt description of MadikizelaMandela who, despite the bad press and controversies which sought to blight her contribution to the struggle against apartheid, remained ever popular among poor people.
Another fitting tribute came from ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu who spoke of Madikizela-Mandela’s strength and how she had withstood the abuse and torture at the hands of apartheid police.
“She defied everything apartheid threw at her. They threw raids, they threw detention without trial, they threw solitary confinement, they threw banishments, they threw house arrests at her, they threw torture at her.
“Despite all of these things they did to her, she stood firm in her beliefs and stood firm in aiding the struggle for our freedom. Indeed, she always said she was part of the collective of the liberation struggle. But she was a very important individual in that collective. I’m convinced without the likes of Mam’ Winnie, our freedom would not have come.”
The latter statement may seem farfetched but the reality is that it was Madikizela-Mandela who was the face of resistance against apartheid when the entire ANC leadership was either in prison or in exile. It was also her popularity among the youth that set her on a collision course with the exiled leadership of the ANC who wanted to rein her in.
Until the end, she remained an inspiration.
As thousands of women throughout the country demonstrated, when they donned their doeks last Friday in her honour, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela “has not died but has multiplied”.