Winnie Madikizela Mandela

Biography of Winnie Madikizela Mandela

1st Famous Name: Winnie Mandela.
2nd Famous Name: Mother of the Nation
3rd Famous Name: Mama Winnie
Nickname(s): Winnie.
Full True Names: Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe.
Surname: Mandela.
Maiden surname: Madikizela.
Date of Birth: 26 September 1936.
Date of death: 02 April 2018 (Aged 81).
Location death: Milpark Hospital, Johannesburg, Gauteng.
Place of Birth: Village of Mbongweni, Bizana, Pondoland in Transkei, Eastern Cape Province, in South Africa.
Province of Birth: Eastern Cape Province.
Nationality: South African
Gender: Female
Weight: +60kg

Father's Name: Kokani Columbus Madikizela.
Father Lived: In Gcuwa, Eastern Cape.
Date of Birth: Approximately born in 1905.
Passed away in: February 1971 (Approx. Aged 66).
Career: History School Teacher.
Mothers Birth Name: Nomathamsanqa Gertrude Madikizela.
Mother’s maiden surname: Mzaidume.
Mother Lived: In Gcuwa, Eastern Cape.
Passed away: In 1944
Career: Domestic Science Teacher.
Father and Mother Married: Yes.
Number of Siblings: 8 siblings.
Siblings names: Sthembiso Madikizela(brother), Mobantu Mniki(sister), Nonyaniso Khumalo(sister), Msuthu Madikizela(brother), Nancy Vuthela(sister), Irene Madikizela(sister), Princess Madikizela(sister).

1st Born: their first child, Zenani Mandela-Dlamini was born on 4 February 1958, in South Africa.
2nd Born: 2nd Daughter, Zindziswa Mandela-Hlongwane, born on 23 December 1960, in South Africa.
Number of Grand Children: They have 8 Grandchildren.

Winnie Mandela attended Primary School in Bizana.
Her school curriculum was based on the Apartheid government systems Bantu Education.
Winnie also went to high school, in the Bizana area and also went on to become the head girl, during high school.
She passed her junior certificate (standard 8) with distinction and went to study at Shawsbury, a Methodist mission school at Qumbu.
It was there that she matriculated and distinguished herself as a person with exceptional leadership qualities.
In 1953, upon her father’s advice, Winnie was admitted to the Jan Hofmeyr School of Social Work in Johannesburg.
In 1955, she completed her degree in social work being the top of her class.
She was offered a scholarship to go and further her studies in the United States of America.
She was offered a medical social work position at the Baragwanath Hospital in Johannesburg.
Winnie was the first qualified Black Medical Social Worker, to become a member of the staff to fill that post.

She moves to Johannesburg.
Upon her father’s advice, Winnie was admitted to the Jan Hofmeyr School of Social Work in Johannesburg.

In 1958:
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela marries Nelson Mandela in Bizana in the Eastern Cape.

In 1959:
She gives birth to her first child Zenani.
In 1960:
Winnie- Madikizela Mandela gives birth to her second daughter who is Zindziswa.

In 1962:
She was banned by the apartheid government and her movements restricted to the magisterial district of Johannesburg.
The order also stipulated that she is not allowed to be quoted in the media platforms.
This follows the arrest of Winnie Madikizela’s husband (Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela) during the previous year.

In 1965:
A severe banning order is handed to Winnie Mandela which limited her movements.
She was not supposed to go anywhere other than her neighbourhood of Orlando West.

Madikizela-Mandela’s home is raided.
She was arrested and kept in solitary confinement for 17 months.
The first 200 days she had no formal contact with any one, except for her interrogator Major Theunis Swanepoel, a notorious torturer.

In 1973:
Mama Winnie is arrested again for meeting with another banned person, a photographer for Drum magazine, Peter Magubane.
She was handed a 12-month sentence.

In 1977:
Known as the year of the Brandfort banishment.
Mama Winnie was sent to small town, 400 kilometers away from Johannesburg, for a long 8 years.

In 1986:
She returns to her home at 8115 Vilakazi Street, Orlando West, in Soweto.
It was the year of the formation of the Mandela United Football Club (MUFC).

In 1988:
Winnie Mandela received a Candace Award for Distinguished Service from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.

Her husband is released from prison,
Winnie Mandela is present when Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison.
In 1992:
She becomes President of the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL).
In 1994:
She is appointed Deputy Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology.
In 1995:
She was dismissed from the position of Deputy Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology for allegations of financial mismanagement.
In 2016:
Winnie Mandela celebrates her 80th birthday at a gala at Cape Town’s Mount Nelson Hotel.
With family, friends, Colleagues and President Cyril Ramaphosa.