Winnie Mandela Memorial Programme
Winnie Mandela Memorial Programme
Winnie Mandela Memorial Programme
SERVICE FOR
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
Wednesday, 11 April 2018
On 14 June 1958, she married Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela with whom she had
two daughters, Zenani and Zindziswa. Their early married life was turbulent;
peppered with constant police raids, African National Congress (ANC) meetings,
protest actions and legal cases.
In October 1958, Mama Winnie took part in a mass women’s protest against the
apartheid government’s infamous pass laws, organised by Mama Lilian Ngoyi,
Mama Albertina Sisulu and others. During the protest, the police arrested over
1 000 women. Mama Winnie and others spent two weeks in prison as a sign of
further protest. It was an event which brought Mama Winnie’s political leadership
capabilities to the fore.
From 1961 she was subjected to an almost uninterrupted series of legal orders
that curbed her ability to work and socialise. In 1962 she lost her husband to
long-term imprisonment and was only reunited with him in 1990.
Mama Winnie herself was constantly harassed and bullied, and her children
targeted. In 1962 she was banned under the Suppression of Communism Act,
during which time she was restricted to Orlando, Soweto.
She worked clandestinely for the ANC; attending meetings, printing and
distributing pamphlets, and was put under house arrest in 1970 for repeatedly
flouting her banning orders.
In 1965 a more severe banning order barred her from moving anywhere beyond
Orlando West. The ramification of this banning order was the cost of losing her
job as a social worker.
On the night of 12 May 1969, Mama Winnie and her children were woken to
the familiar sounds of a police raid. The police tore her away from her children
under the Terrorism Act of 1967. She was detained in solitary confinement for
491 days (17 months) under the Terrorism Act.
In May 1973, she was arrested again and given a 12-month sentence at
Kroonstad Women’s Prison. She was released after six months and surprisingly,
her banning order was not renewed.
In May 1976, Mama Winnie worked with Dr Nthato Motlana to establish the
Soweto Parents’ Association and had their hands full with youth and parents
who had been arrested, injured or killed in the protest of June 1976.
Following the student protest in Soweto, Mama Winnie was held in custody for
five months without charge and in January 1977, she was served with a fresh
banning order that exiled her to Brandfort in the Free State.
She defied the system and returned to Soweto and throughout the 1980s, she
took on an increasingly prominent role in the struggle against apartheid. The
1980s were characterised by an unprecedented level of mass participation and
community struggles throughout the country, and particularly driven by Mama
Winnie, in Soweto.
In 1984 she published the book Part of My Soul and in 2013, 491 Days: Prisoner
number 1323/69, which she dedicated to her late granddaughter Zenani. It
draws on a journal she secretly wrote during her imprisonment. In the book,
she speaks of the pain of being separated from her children and about how this
shaped her into the person that she became.
Mama Winnie was a proud black African woman who fought and persevered
for her country against injustice. She knew it was a thankless job and did not
endure the hardship in pursuit of any personal glorification but instead for the
emancipation of her people. She provided refuge to many young activists who
identified with freedom and social justice. For this she was given the title of
Honorary President of the Congress of South African Students, for life.
Programme directors:
Mr Paul Mashatile
Minister Nomvula Mokonyane
National Anthem
Opening devotions
Bishop Gary Rivas and Rev Dr Vukile Mehana
Musical item
• Brenda Mntambo and Nomfundo Xaluva
Musical item
• Soweto Gospel Choir
Musical item
• Mzwakhe Mbuli
Tributes
• Personal Assistant: Ms Zodwa Zwane
• Inkosi Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Musical item
• Soweto Gospel Choir
Tributes
• Special Guest
• AZAPO – Strike Thokoane
• PAC – Narius Moloto
• ANC – Ms Jessie Duarte
Sermon
• Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana
Announcements
• Programme directors
Vote of thanks
• General Thanduxolo Mandela