Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife Winnie Mandela dies at 81
Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife Winnie Mandela dies at 81/node/1277941/world
Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife Winnie Mandela dies at 81
File photo taken on Feb 13, 1990, African National Congress and anti apartheid leader Nelson Mandela and his then-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela raise their clenched fists at Soweto Soccer City stadium, during a rally attended by over 100,000 people to celebrate Mandela’s release from jail on February 11, 1990. (AFP)
Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife Winnie Mandela dies at 81
Winnie Mandela, who was married to Nelson Mandela for 38 years, played a high-profile role in the battle to end white-minority rule but her place in history was also stained by controversy
In 1986, she was widely linked to “necklacing,” when suspected traitors were burnt alive by a petrol-soaked car tire being put over their head and set alight.
Updated 03 April 2018
AFP
JOHANNESBURG: Winnie Mandela, the former wife of South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, died on Monday at the age of 81, her spokesman said
She died in a Johannesburg hospital after a long illness, spokesman Victor Dlamini said in a statement.
Winnie Mandela, who was married to Nelson Mandela for 38 years, played a high-profile role in the battle to end white-minority rule but her place in history was also stained by controversy.
“It is with profound sadness that we inform the public that Mrs.Winnie Madikizela-Mandela passed away at the Netcare Milpark Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa on Monday,” said a statement issued by Dlamini, a family spokesman.
“She died after a long illness, 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.”
Most of Winnie’s marriage to Nelson was spent apart, with Nelson imprisoned for 27 years, leaving her to raise their two daughters alone and to keep alive his political dream under the repressive white-minority regime.
But her reputation came under damaging scrutiny in the twilight years of apartheid rule.
In 1986, she was widely linked to “necklacing,” when suspected traitors were burnt alive by a petrol-soaked car tire being put over their head and set alight.
In 1990 the world watched when Nelson Mandela finally walked out of prison — hand in hand with Winnie.
The following year, she was convicted of kidnapping and assault over the killing of Stompie Moeketsi, a 14-year-old boy.
In 1992, the Mandelas separated, and then divorced in 1996, after a legal wrangle that revealed she had had an affair with a young bodyguard.
In show of support, Canada, France open consulates in Greenland
Updated 3 sec ago
COPENHAGEN, Denmark: Canada and France, which both adamantly oppose Donald Trump’s wish to control Greenland, will open consulates in the Danish autonomous territory’s capital on Friday, in a strong show of support for the local government. Since returning to the White House last year, Trump has repeatedly insisted that Washington needs to control the strategic, mineral-rich Arctic island for security reasons. The US president last month backed off his threats to seize Greenland after saying he had struck a “framework” deal with NATO chief Mark Rutte to ensure greater American influence. A US-Denmark-Greenland working group has been established to discuss ways to meet Washington’s security concerns in the Arctic, but the details of the talks have not been made public. While Denmark and Greenland have said they share Trump’s security concerns, they have insisted that sovereignty and territorial integrity are a “red line” in the discussions. “In a sense, it’s a victory for Greenlanders to see two allies opening diplomatic representations in Nuuk,” said Jeppe Strandsbjerg, a political scientist at the University of Greenland. “There is great appreciation for the support against what Trump has said.” French President Emmanuel Macron announced Paris’s plans to open a consulate during a visit to Nuuk in June, where he expressed Europe’s “solidarity” with Greenland and criticized Trump’s ambitions. The newly-appointed French consul, Jean-Noel Poirier, has previously served as ambassador to Vietnam. Canada meanwhile announced in late 2024 that it would open a consulate in Greenland to boost cooperation. The opening of the consulates is “a way of telling Donald Trump that his aggression against Greenland and Denmark is not a question for Greenland and Denmark alone, it’s also a question for European allies and also for Canada as an ally, as a friend of Greenland and the European allies also,” Ulrik Pram Gad, Arctic expert at the Danish Institute of International Studies, told AFP. “It’s a small step, part of a strategy where we are making this problem European,” said Christine Nissen, security and defense analyst at the Europa think tank. “The consequences are obviously not just Danish. It’s European and global.”
Recognition
According to Strandsbjerg, the two consulates — which will be attached to the French and Canadian embassies in Copenhagen — will give Greenland an opportunity to “practice” at being independent, as the island has long dreamt of cutting its ties to Denmark one day. The decision to open diplomatic missions is also a recognition of Greenland’s growing autonomy, laid out in its 2009 Self-Government Act, Nissen said. “In terms of their own quest for sovereignty, the Greenlandic people will think to have more direct contact with other European countries,” she said. That would make it possible to reduce Denmark’s role “by diversifying Greenland’s dependence on the outside world, so that it is not solely dependent on Denmark and can have more ties for its economy, trade, investments, politics and so on,” echoed Pram Gad. Greenland has had diplomatic ties with the European Union since 1992, with Washington since 2014 and with Iceland since 2017. Iceland opened its consulate in Nuuk in 2013, while the United States, which had a consulate in the Greenlandic capital from 1940 to 1953, reopened its mission in 2020. The European Commission opened its office in 2024.
