Updated
Her traditional name was Nomzamo — "she who tries". But, she was known universally as Winnie.
Key points:
- Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was a political leader in her own right
- She delivered a controversial speech advocating a violent form of death for ANC enemies in 1986
- But many township families remember 'Mama Winnie' for her generosity
Winnie Madikizela was born on September 26, 1936, in South Africa's Transkei region.
She died on Monday in a Johannesburg hospital at the age of 81 after a long illness.
Her parents Columbus and Gertrude were school teachers and filled her with the importance of education.
As a young woman, she graduated from university and became a social worker, advocating for patients and families at Baragwanath Hospital.
A chance meeting at a Soweto bus stop in 1957 changed the course of her life.
She caught the attention of a young lawyer and activist, Nelson Mandela.
The couple fell in love and married the following year.
It was a meeting of minds and politics.
The Mandelas had two daughters, Zenani and Zindzi.
But, home life was pierced and distorted by the anti-apartheid struggle.
Nelson Mandela was sent to prison in 1963.
Detained, beaten, arrested and exiled
In his absence, Mrs Mandela, as she was then known, was not only a single parent, but a vocal activist.
She was repeatedly detained, beaten, arrested and exiled.
She spent 18 months in solitary confinement for her role in the African National Congress (ANC).
Letters to her husband in prison on Robben Island were heavily censored — sentences cut out with razor blades, other words hidden under thick black ink.
The children grew up with few memories of their father, but with constant reminders of his status as an enemy of the state.
The Mandela home in Soweto is still scarred by bullet marks on the front porch from shots fired by the security forces during the height of apartheid.
Winnie Mandela did not spend her time quietly waiting for her husband's release.
She became a vocal, steely member of the ANC.
In 1986, she delivered a controversial speech supporting violence against the ANC's enemies, including the use of "necklacing" — burning a victim to death with a tyre full of fuel around their neck.
Her security team, known as the Mandela United Football Club became infamous for dispensing township justice.
Mrs Mandela was convicted of involvement in the kidnapping of a 14-year-old boy, who was found dead in 1989.
The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission would later find Mrs Mandela politically and morally accountable for gross violations of human rights.
Mandelas raise their fists in celebration, defiance
In 1990, Mandela was released after 27 years in prison.
He walked free, holding hands with Winnie.
The pair raised their fists to the crowd, in celebration and defiance.
But, the reunion was not simple.
The couple that was married in 1958 had changed, along with the nation they were fighting for.
Mandela had been transformed from young activist, to unseen inmate and then to the pinnacle of international acclaim.
The demands of reconnecting with his family were overshadowed by the challenges of transforming the nation to democracy in time for elections.
The former prisoner became president in 1994.
A political leader in her own right
Mrs Mandela had undergone an evolution of her own.
She was a political leader in her own right and shunned the expectations of becoming first lady.
She was appointed a Minister in the ANC government, but was removed less than a year later amid allegations of corruption.
All the while, the Mandelas' marriage was falling apart. The couple divorced in 1996.
In 2003, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, as she then became known, was convicted of multiple counts of fraud and theft, all but one of the convictions was overturned on appeal the following year.
Ms Madikizela-Mandela continued her role as a senior figure in the ANC — revered by her supporters and watched carefully by her enemies.
Some in the ANC thought she had tarnished her reputation, others put her years of struggle ahead of her convictions.
Beyond her national and international profile, she maintained deep connections in Soweto and beyond.
Many township families still have their own stories of "Mama Winnie" — an unpayable bill paid, a funeral attended, a promise kept, names remembered.
Those who had nowhere else to go, would walk up to Mama Winnie's gate to seek help.
That is where she is remembered, somewhere between the international stage and the township streets.
Somewhere between steadfast wife and fiercely independent activist.
Somewhere between wronged and wrongful.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was as turbulent and transformative as the times she lived in.
Topics: death, world-politics, activism-and-lobbying, law-crime-and-justice, race-relations, south-africa
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