The Greene County Democrat

Tag: Winnie Madikizela Mandela

  • Newswire : Commemorative events panned for Mandela Centenary

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    June 25, 2018 (GIN) – It is easy to break down and destroy. The heroes are those who make peace and build.

    Those were the prophetic words of President Nelson Mandela whose role in the long struggle waged against the racist system of apartheid is recalled on the anniversary of his birth on July 18, 1918.

    This year, the theme of the birthday Centenary is world peace. Events will take place worldwide to commemorate the former leader.

    A “Nelson Mandela Peace Summit” will take place at the U.N. with speeches by top UN officials, the chair of the African Union Commission and member staIn Johannesburg, the Mandela Concerts have pledged to raise money for literacy projects including 100 new library units for schools in South Africa and a digital library.

    On July 17, former president Barack Obama will deliver the Nelson Mandela lecture, whose theme of renewing the Mandela legacy and promoting active citizenship in a changing world was developed after the passing of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

    Former Obama speechwriter Ben Rhodes commented: “The choice of Mandela and South Africa are freighted with symbolism for Obama at a time when his political legacy is being dismantled by his successor, Donald Trump, who has crudely disparaged African countries.”

    At press time, however, two South African organizations disputed the invite to Obama for “cultivating a new kind of colonialism in the name of the ‘War on Terror’, spreading fear, violence and destruction, in particular among Muslim communities, rubber-stamping over 100 military actions a day throughout Africa, and many more in the Middle East.”

    “US foreign policy has left destruction, division and suffering in its wake, and led to the rise of violent groups,” said Feroze Boda, spokesperson for CAGE Africa – an organization that opposes the so-called War on Terror.

    Palestine Solidarity Alliance spokesperson Naazim Adam also objected to the decision to invite Obama, recalling the thousands of civilian casualties in Somalia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Syria that continued under Obama’s presidency.

    Mandela Foundation chairperson Professor Njabulo Ndebele defended the decision to invite Obama, noting that Madiba had great respect for the first Black U.S. President.

    “In an era defined by worsening tensions between people, in which the spectre of exclusion and intolerance across the world seems to become normalized, the messages of President Obama, like those of Madiba, must be given space,” Ndebele said.

    “Furthermore, the foundation’s key focus areas, including the eradication of poverty and inequality and the dismantling of anti-black racism, are causes that are close to President Obama’s heart. His historic election as the first black president of the United States does have resonance in South Africa, as do many of his pro-poor policies, such as universal healthcare.”

  • Newswire : With Winnie gone, ANC loses its grip

     

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    Winnie Mandela

    Apr. 16, 2018 (GIN) – As Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was lovingly laid to rest with full state honors, her beloved country was being buffeted by published reports of a massive diversion of monies from the most vulnerable people, to whom she dedicated her life, to the wealthy.

    Among the victims of the apparent looting of government funds are Black farmers in the Eastern Cape. Reporters from the Saturday Dispatch found that promised lands were abandoned, unproductive and derelict.

    In Vrede, in the province of Free State, a dairy project meant for Black farmers was skimmed of $21 million in public funds. A family with close ties to former President Jacob Zuma took over the government-backed project.

    Prosecutors say only about 1 percent of the money invested by the province actually went into dairy farming. Leaked emails indicate that some of the money was sent to the United Arab Emirates and put into accounts registered to the Guptas, close friends of President Zuma. The money then made its way back to South Africa through a maze of bank transfers, according to spreadsheets, logs and an invoice in the email trove.

    The black farmers who were supposed to be beneficiaries of the project ended up receiving nothing — an outcome that, to many, symbolized the corruption that flourished under the ANC.

    In his state of the nation address, President Cyril Ramaphosa promised to resurrect the economy and create jobs, adding “This is the year in which we will turn the tide of corruption in our public institutions.”

    A onetime anti-apartheid labor leader, Mr. Ramaphosa went into business in the late 1990s and quickly became one of the richest men on the continent, with a fortune now estimated at $450 million.

    Perhaps the biggest unprosecuted crime in the country, however, is a multi-billion dollar arms deal that included advanced weaponry such as warships, fighter aircraft and new submarines to “counter military threats.”

    European arms dealers had long been preparing for this. With the extensive use of bribes – estimated at one billion dollars – they proceeded to sell weapons that the country did not need and could not afford.

    With the stepping down of Jacob Zuma and his immunity lifted, the former president must now face corruption charges over the $2.5 billion arms deal.

    Winnie Madikizela-Mandela had opposed the excessive spending on weapons.

  • Newswire : In South Africa, pain and shock at passing of Winnie Madikizela Mandela

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      Winnie Mandela

    (TriceEdneyWire.com/GIN) – Tributes to anti-apartheid icon Winnie Madikizela Mandela filled the South African radio air waves this week as news of her untimely passing reached the far corners of the nation and the continent.
    Heart-rending classics from the American songbook – from The Song for Mama by Boyz to Men to Donny Hathaway’s A Song for You – expressed the somber mood in the nation while social media filled with remembrances by those whose lives she touched – sometimes with a single word, sometimes with a long eulogy.
    “The big tree has fallen the #MotherOfTheNation, a nation builder ulale kahle mama you have fought a good fight,you’ll remain in our hearts,” wrote AndileKaMajola on Twitter. “How I wish to have met you,” wrote Sego Bae we EFF from South Africa’s city of Randburg. “You are a woman of steel and no one will ever take away that from you mama Winnie Nonzamo Mandela. May your lovely soul rest in peace.”
    The former wife of Robbin Island prisoner later president Nelson Mandela, Winnie had been in and out of Netcare Milpark Hospital battling a kidney infection, according to her spokesman, Victor Dlamini. A message from the family read: “Altho we are gutted by her passing, we are grateful for the gift of her life.”
    Recently, she was an observer during the ANC’s struggle over corruption allegations that enveloped past president Jacob Zuma. She expressed confidence in the new leadership of the ANC under Cyril Ramaphosa. “We’re going to surprise the country. I’ve told them they must watch this space. I’m back,” she declared.
    Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela was one of nine children – six of them daughters – of two teachers and devout Methodists, Columbus Madikizela and his wife, Gertrude.
    When Madikizela-Mandela moved to Johannesburg, she studied social work. There she met lawyer and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela in 1957 and they married a year later and had two children.
    The marriage was short-lived as he was arrested in 1963 and sentenced to life imprisonment for treason. Mandela was eventually released in 1990.
    Winnie was a strong single parent who raised two children while her “larger than life” husband was in prison. This was a time that the ANC and the country overall was “gendered”, spurring her struggle for women’s rights.
    In May 1969, Winnie was jailed supposedly for political agitation, but more likely for simply being the wife of Nelson Mandela. Held for 17 months, she spent most of the time in solitary confinement, and was interrogated and kept awake for up to five days at a time.
    The picture of her hand-in-hand with Mandela as he walked free from prison after 27 years became one of the most recognizable symbols of the anti-apartheid struggle.
    The Mandela family says it will release details of the memorial and funeral services once
    these have been finalized. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced an official
    memorial on April 14 in Orlando Stadium in Soweto.
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