Winnie Mandela laid to rest in Soweto
SOWETO: South Africa laid to rest antiapartheid heroine Winnie MadikizelaMandela on Saturday, after 40,000 people from across the political spectrum mourned her at a funeral ceremony in her township of Soweto.
MadikizelaMandela’s death on April 2 at the age of 81 after a long illness was met by an outpouring of emotion across the country, with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and opposition parties holding memorials to remember her courage in the struggle to end whiteminority rule.
The official funeral service for the exwife of the late Nelson Mandela took place in Soweto, the Johannesburg township at the forefront of the battle against apartheid where she lived.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said that, just as South Africa grieved for MadikizelaMandela, it was comforted by the profound meaning of her life.
‘‘In death, she has demonstrated that our many differences along political party and racial lines and the numerous disputes we may have are eclipsed by our shared desire to follow her lead in building a just, equitable society,’’ he said.
‘‘Loudly and without apology, she spoke truth to power. It was those in power who, insecure and fearful, visited upon her the most vindictive and callous retribution. Yet, through everything, she endured. They could not break her. They could not silence her.’’
The afternoon burial ceremony at Fourways Memorial Park Cemetery, north of Johannesburg, ended a nearly twoweek mourning period declared by the Government.
Earlier, mourners sang and cheered as Madikizela
and
caring Mandela’s body was brought into the 40,000seat Orlando stadium, filled to capacity for the funeral service.
Many mourners were clad in the green and yellow colours of the ANC. Members of the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters party also attended in large numbers.
Also present at the funeral service were former presidents Thabo Mbeki, Kgalema Motlanthe and Jacob Zuma, dignitaries from African countries and celebrities such as British model Naomi Campbell and US civil rights activist Jesse Jackson. — Reuters