‘I’m in pain – she was a hero’
HONOUR: POLITICAL LEADERS SAY IT’S FITTING ‘Madikizela-Mandela was a solid rock and a defender of the defenceless.’
Fighting back tears, the last living leader of the Women’s March of 1955, Sophie de Bruyn, described the immense sadness she felt upon hearing the news of the loss of a friend.
De Bruyn herself spent her 80th birthday with Madikizela-Mandela in January, while she was in Milkpark Hospital in Johannesburg. There they shared memories of their struggle activities.
“It is very painful. I am in a very painful place right now,” De Bruyn told The Citizen.
Struggle veteran Denis Goldberg pointed to the great loss the nation has experienced.
“She was a genuine hero. Her life was turned upside down by that long solitary confinement. The brutality of her treatment made her life very difficult thereafter, in the sense that the security establishment ran a campaign of vilification against her,” an emotional Goldberg said.
Goldberg remembered when she and Nelson Mandela arrived in Sweden to see OR Tambo after Madiba had been released.
“They came down the reception line … she looked at me … and she beamed at me! “She said ‘how wonderful to see you again!’ And we didn’t know each other that well … but it was just the sincere magnetism of that personality that was a delight to see.”
Goldberg added that Madikizela-Mandela was a tremendous example of “courage, and how things can go wrong for a bit – and how by stepping back and reflecting, one can make a comeback”.
She also epitomised the strength that a mother has to display when faced with ghastly situations.
“One admires her for that time when she had left Brandfort (where she had been banished to).
“No matter what happened… people were shot … people were imprisoned … but she was there to comfort them.
“That is quite remarkable courage I have to say, which is why she was so widely admired – even by those of us who sometimes felt she was a little bit more dramatic than she might have been.”
Political party leaders have called for South African flags to be flown at half-mast in honour of ANC stalwart and freedom fighter, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Bantu Holomisa, Madikizela-Mandela’s friend and protege of her late husband, Nelson Mandela, paid tribute to struggle veteran Winnie who, he said, was a feisty and vocal freedom fighter, who did not hesitate to speak her mind.
“She also sacrificed almost three decades of her life during which she and uTata should have been free to go about their daily lives as a normal family, with human rights and civil liberties,” said the United Democratic Movement president. “But that was not this couple’s fate; they had a higher calling.
“She sometimes made for a controversial figure and – whether one agreed with her views or not – one must admire the fact that she never lacked the courage of her convictions. She called a spade a shovel –and then some. She was strong, passionate, articulate and charismatic. She did not shirk confrontation, but also had a sense of humour and a light-hearted side.”
As then Transkei military ruler, Holomisa worked closely with Madikizela-Mandela, who frequently visited the homeland to pass messages to him from the exiled ANC leadership.
Her close associate and EFF leader Julius Malema reacted with a tweet consisting of only emojis representing sadness, crying, and a broken heart.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane said it was a “sad day” for SA. “She is a hero who dedicated all her life to the fight against oppression and she stood for the values of freedom and democracy that we all enjoy today. Our condolences to her family.”
Maimane said it was fitting for all South Africans to mourn and for the country to fly flags at half-mast in her honour.
Congress of the People president Mosiuoa Lekota described her as an “outstanding symbol” for racial and gender equality in South Africa and a leader who “shall not be forgotten”.
He said: “The example of her life will continue to inspire many generations of South African, African and international humankind to live lives of courage and audacity wherever humankind left behind and oppressed. May her soul rest in peace.”
The ANC Women’s League, of which Madikizela-Mandela was president for two terms, said it was shocked.
ANCWL secretary-general Meokgo Matuba described her as “the epitome of the struggle against inequality, unemployment and poverty and one of the most prolific women leaders. She will forever remain one of the astounding activists and embodiment of ANCWL values.”
National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete and National Council of Provinces chairperson Thandi Modise also expressed their shock. “She defied the repressive laws and associated patriarchy, embodied a brave character of an unflinching woman in the wake of all odds against her throughout her life. She was a solid rock, a defender of the vulnerable and defenceless,” a joint statement from parliament said. –
She also sacrificed almost three decades of her life during which she and uTata should have been free to go about their daily lives as a normal family, with human rights and civil liberties. But that was not this couple’s fate; they had a higher calling. Bantu Holomisa President of the United Democratic Movement