Winnie Mandela and her legacy of unwelcome truths

The death of Winnie Madikizela Mandela has come at a delicate time for South Africa. The country’s new president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has taken over, yet politics remains in a state of flux. Jacob Zuma’s corruption trial, set to take place in June, will see an airing of dirty laundry sure to paint the country’s political class in a bad light. Yet Mandela’s death has seen South Africa’s leaders try to outdo themselves in a different exercise: giving the most nauseating panegyrics to “Mama Winnie”. At Mandela’s funeral today, these tributes – which ignore the darker side of her legacy – are sure to continue if her memorial service this week is anything to go by. Take South Africa’s deputy president, David Mabuza, who gave the following eulogy:

‘The Mother of Nation is gone. When she passed on, we heard the skies weeping as if to mirror the emotions felt by the nation and the world.