Lest we forget:
Winnie Madikizela Mandela (1936 – 2018); Age: 81; Cause of death: illness
James “Stompie” Seipei (1974 – 1989); Age: 14; Cause of death: murder, throat slit
South Africa is in mourning over Winnie Madikizela Mandela who died on Monday. The official mood is of sadness and eulogy. The unofficial mood is quite different and rather confused. Any hard look at her life brings up all sorts of disturbing questions about her and about South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy. The official message seems to be: “Don’t look too hard”.
Of course, Winnie Mandela endured many wrongs under the apartheid regime. She was held without trial and denied a family life as a result of her husband Nelson’s unfair imprisonment. She was also harassed and tormented by the government. In 1969, she suffered months and months of solitary confinement. In 1977, she was banished to the remote town of Brandfort in the Orange Free State.
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