President Akufo-Addo has expressed his condolences to the family of the late Winnie Mandela, who died on 2nd April, 2018.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday morning, President Akufo-Addo paid a short but heart-warming tribute to the anti-apartheid activist, describing her as a ‘freedom’ fighter’ and ‘remarkable woman’ whose name will echo for ages.
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The post read “I’m deeply saddened by the news of the death of Winnie Mandela. Her name will echo down the ages, and will forever be remembered as a freedom fighter and a remarkable woman. Rest in perfect peace “Mama Wetu.” You’ve earned it.
South African anti-apartheid campaigner and former first lady Winnie Madikizela-Mandela died on Monday, April 2 at the age of 81.
She and her former husband, the late Nelson Mandela, who were both jailed, were a symbol of the country’s anti-apartheid struggle for three decades.
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Born in Bizana in the Eastern Cape in 1936‚ she moved to Johannesburg to study social work after matriculation.
She met lawyer and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela in 1957 and they were married a year later. They had two children together.
However, her marriage with Mandela was short-lived‚ as he was arrested in 1963 and sentenced to life imprisonment for treason. Mandela was eventually released in 1990.
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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 1969‚ Madikizela-Mandela became one of the first detainees under Section 6 of the notorious Terrorism Act of 1967. She was detained for 18 months in solitary confinement in a condemned cell at Pretoria Central Prison before being charged under the Suppression of Communism Act of 1950.
