Winnie Madikizela- Mandela dies aged 81

Nomzamo Winifred Madikizela- Mandela, a stalwart in the fight against apartheid, has died at the age of 81. Her PA, Zodwa Zwane, confirmed the struggle veteran's death on Monday afternoon. She said the family would issue a statement later in the day.

Born in Bizana in the Eastern Cape in 1936, she moved to Johannesburg to study social work after matriculating. She met lawyer and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela in 1975 and they were married a year later. They had two children together.

However her marriage life with Mandela was short lived, as she was arrested in 1963 and sentenced to life imprisonment for treason. Mandela was eventually released in 1990. During Mandela's time in prison, Madikizela- Mandela was not spared the reach of the apartheid forces. She was placed under house arrest and at one time banished to Brandfort, a town in the Free state.

In 1991, she was convicted of kidnapping and being an accessory to assault of Stompie Seibei, a young activist who was killed by a member of her bodyguards, the Mandela United Football club.

Madikizela- Mandela's bodyguards had abducted Seipei, 14, in 1989, along with three other youths, from the home of Methodist Minister Paul Verryn.

Her six year jail sentence was reduced to a fine and a two year suspended sentence on appeal. Her marriage to Mandela begun to flounder a few years after his release. The couple divorced in 1996, 37 years after their marriage. After the democratic election in 1994, Mandikizela- Mandela became an MP and was appointed deputy Minister of arts and culture. She was fired by Mandela after an unauthorized trip to Ghana.

She had been an MP ever since, despite limited appearance in Parliament in the past few years.

I never liked the way she spoke about Nelson after his death...

Hi @ketchim? Maybe she was just bitter, nonetheless she will forever be a hero in our eyes. Many marriages go sore nowadays. It's so sad. We will miss her terribly.