Desmond Tutu has joined the country and the world in mourning Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.<\/p>\n
He described Winnie as having been the defining symbol of the struggle against apartheid, for many years.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe refused to be bowed by the imprisonment of her husband\u201a the perpetual harassment of her family by security forces\u201a detentions\u201a bannings and banishment. Her courageous defiance was deeply inspirational to me\u201a and to generations of activists.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeah and I send our heartfelt condolences to her daughters\u201a grandchildren and extended family. May she rest in peace and rise in glory\u201a\u201d Tutu said in a statement.<\/p>\n
President Cyril Ramaphosa too took time to address the nation. He praised the late Winnie Madikizela-Mandela for her determination and courage during the toughest times of apartheid.
\n\u201cFor many years\u201a she bore the blunt of the senseless brutality of the apartheid state with stoicism and fortitude. Despite the hardship she faced\u201a she never doubted that the struggle for freedom and democracy would triumph and succeed. She remained throughout her life a tireless advocate for the dispossessed and the marginalised. She was the voice for the voiceless.”<\/p>\n
Winnie died on Monday afternoon at the age of 81. She had a kidney ailment at the time of her death.<\/p>\n
Mandela family spokesman\u201a Victor Dlamini\u201a said: \u201cIt is with profound sadness that we inform the public that Mrs Winnie Madikizela-Mandela passed away at the Netcare Milpark Hospital\u201a Johannesburg\u201a South Africa on Monday April 2\u201a 2018. She died after a long illness\u201a for which she had been in and out of hospital since the start of the year. She succumbed peacefully in the early hours of Monday afternoon surrounded by her family and loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Desmond Tutu has joined the country and the world in mourning Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. He described Winnie as having been the defining symbol of the struggle against apartheid, for many years. \u201cShe refused to be bowed by the imprisonment of her husband\u201a the perpetual harassment of her family by security forces\u201a detentions\u201a bannings and banishment. Her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6032,"featured_media":10406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[904],"class_list":["post-10402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-winnie-mandela-news"],"yoast_head":"\n