EFF observes the 4th anniversary of the passing of Mama Winnie Madikizela Mandale
2 April 2022
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) observes the 4th Anniversary of the passing of struggle icon and liberation hero, Mama Winnie Madikizela Mandela, who passed away on the 2nd of April 2018.
Having led a fierce resistance to the Apartheid regime, in the harshest days of political repression and isolation, the name of Mama Winnie is carved into the hearts and minds of all former and current activists who believe in the freedom of black people. In the face of imprisonment and torture by the Apartheid regime, and when all key figures of the struggle for liberation were either imprisoned, killed, or had fled the country to pursue personal advancement in studies or business, Mama Winnie remained with our people and raised her fist high through the hail of bullets and intimidation.
Born on the 26th of September 1936 in the rural village of Bizana, a municipality which now bears her name, Mama Winnie has been a leading light and encompassed resilience, defiance, and commitment to the struggles of our people. Mama Winnie made an invaluable contribution to our collective freedom that no one has been able to erase. Moreover, Mama Winnie endured endless harassment by the security branch of Apartheid, constant arrests, and solitary confinement away from her family for 491-days.
Despite concerted efforts by Stratcom media, the Apartheid government, and even her own comrades to destroy her and taint her legacy, Mama Winnie's genuine role in the struggle for black self-determination and her love for her people, has made her a grassroots hero in South Africa.
Mama Winnie stood for true liberation and did not mince her words when it came to condemning the democratic transition of 1994 as an occasion where black people were compromised heavily to accommodate an unapologetic race, which has stolen the land and monopolised the wealth of this country.
Today, the EFF remains a leading voice in maintaining her legacy and elevating her name to the heights it deserves to be in — as an African woman who led a determined struggle for our freedom and independence.
Accordingly, the Headquarters of the EFF are known as 'Mama Winnie Madikizela Mandela House', so that all activists for Economic Freedom can draw inspiration from this proud, loving, fierce and committed revolutionary.
Moreover, the EFF is in the process of building a state-of-the-art school for children who have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS, which will be called 'Winnie Mandela Combined School'. This school will be a political training centre for leaders of the EFF, Members of various legislators and the membership, to capacitate them on Governance, organizational building, and political education. When future generations look for a safe haven from the brutality of the world, they will come to the embrace of Mama Winnie, in a building and a school which carry her values and love for black people.
The EFF will continue to be the pillar of strength in black communities, in the same way Mama Winnie was in the dark days of Apartheid. Mama Winnie is an organic liberation hero, who was made and moulded by the ground and her people, and no media can ever take that away from her. She remains the President South Africa was denied, due to rampant patriarchy that characterises the so-called former liberation movement and our society today.
The name of Mama Winnie Mandela remains on the lips of soldiers and military veterans, it remains in the imagination of militant youth in our Universities and Colleges, and is etched into the memory of our collective consciousness. Mama Winnie is the Mother of the Nation, and her legacy will forever be celebrated by the EFF.
Lastly, the EFF further reiterates the call for Cape Town International Airport to be named after the struggle stalwart, in honour of a woman who contributed massively in the fight against apartheid and who, on her way to her final resting place, was even saluted by her enemies.
Lala Ngoxolo, Mama, we will forever miss you, and we will forever cherish the sacrifices you made for this generation.
Issued by Sinawo Thambo, National Spokesperson, EFF, 2 April 2022
