Times Of Swaziland: WINNIE WAS STRONG, PRINCIPLED - MARIO

WINNIE WAS STRONG, PRINCIPLED - MARIO
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BY THEMBINKOSI MAVIMBELA on 04/04/2018 07:23:00


MBABANE – “Mama Winnie will get her throne on the other side.” President
of the proscribed People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) Mario Masuku
said these words during an interview yesterday about the demise of African
National Congress (ANC) veteran Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who was aged 81.
Madikizela-Mandela died peacefully on Monday.
Masuku, who shared that he knew Madikizela-Mandela personally, described her as
a principled and strong woman. He said she never compromised with her principles
and was straight forward with countries which dictated on their people. He
stated that ‘Mama Winnie’, as she was affectionately known, suffered a lot
because of her principles.
Masuku described Madikizela-Mandela’s death as a great loss to the globe and
said the world would be poor without her. He also described her as one of the
strongest women in the struggle. He narrated how she suffered in the hands of
oppressors during the apartheid era as she was taken away from her children and
harassed because of  her principles. He added that she was only allowed a few
minutes to visit her then jailed husband Nelson Mandela on Robin Island and was
further imprisoned and banished from the town of Branford.
“We, in PUDEMO, wish to honour a person who stood for her principles; she
never compromised. In particular I want to note that comrade Winnie was straight
forward about issues of countries which are undemocratic, countries which
practised dictatorship,” Masuku said.
He also described Madikizela-Mandela as a colossal person in terms of politics.
He said she would meet many stalwarts in the struggle and would be missed as she
ran her race.
According to The Herald, a South African publication, in 1969‚
Madikizela-Mandela became one of the first detainees under Section 6 of the
Terrorism Act of 1967. The publication states that she was detained for 18
months in solitary confinement in a condemned cell at Pretoria Central Prison
before being charged under the Suppression of Communism Act of 1950.
Swaziland has a similar Act – Suppression of Terrorism Act, 2008 which is
being challenged in court for being unconstitutional. Masuku and other political
activists were arrested under this Act and are out on bail. Speaking about the
Act in general and Madikizela-Mandela’s experience with it and what it means
for them, Masuku said such laws of South Africa were only meant to silence the
proponents of freedom and the good life of the people. He said, however,
steadfast people were needed like the ANC veteran whom he said was in grieving
for a long time. He said despite all her challenges, she never cried over
anything.