S.Africa bids emotional farewell to ‘Mama Winnie’ Mandela

The ANC’s signature green, yellow and black adorned mourners’ shirts and flags and women’s head-wraps.

Rita Ndzanga, a frail former anti-apartheid fighter who was detained alongside Winnie Mandela, drew rapturous cheers from the crowd as she spoke about their experiences.

“I remember when we were arrested in our fight against pass laws for women,” she said, describing how they were both breastfeeding at the time.

Official Memorial Service of the late Mama #WinnieMadikizelaMandela at Orlando Stadium in Soweto. #WinnieMandelaMemorial pic.twitter.com/3MbiOvzi71

— African National Congress (@MYANC) April 11, 2018

As well as numerous ministers, religious leaders and family members, George Bizos, an anti-apartheid icon who was close friends with Nelson Mandela, also attended.

He sat alongside at least 100 VIP delegates on a black stage decorated with bright yellow and white flowers and flanked by two big screens.

The stadium burst into song with a spirited rendition of struggle-era song “Mabayeke umhlaba wethu” meaning “Let them return our land” — a reference to the colonial and apartheid-era dispossession of non-white people.

Mananki Joyce Seipei, the mother of a boy whose kidnapping Winnie was convicted of in 1991, was reportedly encouraged by the ANC to attend Wednesday’s event.

– ‘The best we could have’ –

She told local media she was “very sad to hear that Winnie is no more because she and I had made peace”.

Winnie Mandela was found guilty of kidnapping Stompie Moeketsi, a 14-year-old boy who was then beaten to death by her bodyguards in her home in 1988.

She was also accused of running a mafia-style gang responsible for multiple murders and beatings in Soweto, and of endorsing “necklacing” — killing suspected informers with burning tires put over their heads.

#WinnieMandelaMemorial pic.twitter.com/JkI5Lb4OB9

— African National Congress (@MYANC) April 11, 2018

Her convictions for kidnapping and fraud, and her reputation for overseeing violence in black townships, were brushed aside with tributes to her bravery, independence and integrity.

Most of Winnie Mandela’s 38-year marriage to Nelson was spent apart, with Nelson imprisoned for 27 years, leaving her to raise their two daughters alone as she kept his political dream alive.

Glamorous and tough, she played a high-profile role in the battle to end repressive white-minority rule.

In 1990 the world watched when Nelson Mandela finally walked free from prison — hand-in-hand with Winnie.

The Mandelas separated in 1992 and divorced four years later, after a legal wrangle that revealed she had had an affair with a young bodyguard.

During her old age, she re-emerged as a respected elder who was feted as a living reminder of the late Mandela — and of the long and celebrated struggle against apartheid.

“She was the best we could have,” said one of her young great-granddaughters to an ecstatic crowd response.