The sudden passing of Mama Winnie has resulted in national grief, an outpouring of never-told-before anecdotes and a daily obsession with retelling and reviewing her life. Hers was much more than an ordinary life. She was an extraordinary woman, a woman of substance who made an indelible contribution to our history, our struggle, and our freedom.
Winnie was a true and faithful cadre of the liberation movement and one of the finest examples of a dedicated, disciplined member of the African National Congress until her dying day.
She would be horrified at the efforts directed at separating her massive contribution from her loyalty to the ANC.
At a memorial service held at O.R Tambo Hall, her compatriot, Mama Lesia said: “as we talk about mamma Winnie the politician, the liberator, we should not neglect to talk about Mama Winnie as a wonderfully beautiful woman”.
Her political awareness began while she was young, shaped by incidents of racism she observed as a child, the humiliation of black adults she witnessed regularly and the direct observation that things were not right in South Africa. These early experiences shaped her love of justice and her readiness to defend all those who could not defend themselves. She believed that all must have the courage to resist and respond.
She was born in 1936, a year in which fascism was on the rise in Europe. She grew up in the war years of the Second Great War. Even though apartheid was not yet formal policy, racism and colonial attitudes were very present in South Africa.
One of the practices Winnie does not need from us is that which often happens once the living retell the history of renowned leaders who have left us. Those who orate for those who have gone have a tendency to practice historical revisionism. They rewrite the historic contribution in the guise of apologists, who knowing their limited contribution, wish to insert themselves into the history of heroines in the pretense that they too were there and shaped history.
Winnie wrote her own history in action each day of her life, as a learner, as a student, as a grown woman, as a political leader and activist. Her contribution can only be diminished by those who seek to amend it to make themselves seem greater or to wage a political battle in which they know they are inadequate without her political clout. We must tell her history as she lived and shaped it.
She became politicized long before she met Nelson Mandela. As a social worker she began to do research on Alexander Township, due to concerns about infant mortality in that area. On visiting Soweto and Alexandra she was appalled at the poverty and squalor of the living conditions. She took an active interest in changing these conditions. All of you here know how fiercely protective she was, how she hated unfairness and oppression.
Winnie distinguished herself in her partnership with Nelson Mandela. She was very young when they met and fell very much in love. They were married in Johannesburg on 25 May 1958 and were separated for most of their married life, he on Robben Island and she in various other places. During her husband’s 27-year incarceration, she campaigned tirelessly for his release.
She established a massive personal following.
But there can never be a severing of Winnie and our former president Nelson Mandela. Mandela is a national hero and equally Winnie by her actions and resolute contribution is a heroine.
Winnie has always been and will always be respected within the African National Congress. She was a Member of Parliament until her death and a source of political wisdom and encouragement.
In her last interview, given in March and rebroadcast on Easter Monday afternoon by state broadcasters, she spoke of how she had always put the collective good of the ANC before her individual well being.
She worried about unemployment that remains at an historic high across the general population and as high as 2 out of 3 among young people. She worried about corruption that has not only undermined public finances but also public confidence in the state.
Winnie helped to lay the foundation for a democratic South Africa.
We’re still building the nation she wanted, but building on the foundation that she helped to lay for us.
Inspired by her, free South Africa has made great progress towards building a truly non-racial, non-sexist, and democratic South Africa.
Together we have begun to establish a country that is dedicated to patriotism, nation building and reconciliation.
What would Winnie say as she looks at us and listens to us extol her virtues, tell her story and express our admiration and gratitude?
I think she would be impatient with us. She might think we are lazy in appreciating the urgency of our contemporary challenges.
She would remind us, as David Diop does in his evocative poem ‘Africa my Africa’.
Africa, tell me Africa
Is this your back that is unbent
This back that never breaks under the weight of humiliation
This back trembling with red scars
And saying no to the whip under the midday sun But a grave voice answers me
Impetuous child that tree, young and strong That tree over there
Splendidly alone amidst white and faded flowers That is your Africa springing up anew
springing up patiently, obstinately Whose fruit bit by bit acquires The bitter taste of liberty.
Remind us that our backs must not be bent, must not break under the weight of humiliation. Remind us that though our backs tremble with scars and we shield ourselves from the whip of oppression, this is our Africa, our South Africa, springing up anew, as patiently and obstinately, as mama was.
Yes, this fruit of freedom has the bitter taste of liberty.
Nevertheless, this is our legacy from her, and all freedom fighters, and we do not have the luxury of wasting time remoulding her history.
We must get on with the task of infusing her legacy of freedom with the sweet taste of belonging, inclusion, and equality.
Rather than looking to the past, mama would expect us to look to the future, to build on the foundation for which she sacrificed herself and her family.
Don’t mourn her with eulogies, tributes and fine speeches. Mourn her by taking action and continuing the national democratic revolution.
