Gauteng Finance and Economic Development MEC Lebogang Maile says the memory and legacy of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela have become increasingly significant. He was speaking at the 7th annual Memorial Lecture on the life of the late struggle icon and freedom fighter in Johannesburg.
Madikizela-Mandela, who was married to former president Nelson Mandela, was one of the first detainees under the apartheid regimes Section 6 of the notorious Terrorism Act of 1967 and endured multiple arrests and imprisonments.
Like many women struggle stalwarts, Madikizela-Mandela endured immense hardship under the apartheid regime. She was arrested multiple times for her activism, yet she never wavered in her fight for the liberation of South Africa.
Maile emphasized that her legacy must be preserved, as it appears to be fading from history.
"In South Africa today where memory is contested, many legacies have been debated about the legacy of Mama Winnie. But one thing which has no question is that her memory has been subjected to painful erasure. Her contribution minimized."