Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
Encyclopedia
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (born Nomzamo Winfreda Madikizela; 26 September 1936) is a South African politician who has held several government positions and headed the African National Congress Women's League
. She is currently a member of the ANC's National Executive Committee
. Although still married to Nelson Mandela
at the time of his becoming president of South Africa in May 1994, the couple had separated two years earlier. Their divorce was finalised on 19 March 1996, with an unspecified out-of-court settlement. Winnie Mandela's attempt to obtain a settlement up to US$5 million, half of what she claimed her ex-husband was worth, was dismissed when she failed to appear at court for a financial settlement hearing.
A controversial activist, she is popular among her supporters, who refer to her as the 'Mother of the Nation', yet reviled by others, mostly due to her alleged involvement in several human rights abuses, including the 1988 kidnapping of 14-year old ANC activist Stompie Moeketsi
, who was later murdered.
In March 2009, the Independent Electoral Commission ruled that Winnie Mandela, who was selected as an ANC candidate, could run in the April 2009 general election
, despite having a fraud conviction.
name is Nomzamo (she who tries). Umzamo means attempt (trying to accomplish something). The prefix "No-" means "mother of". No+umzamo = Nomzamo, which literally means "the mother of attempt". She was born in the village of eMbongweni, Bizana
, in the Pondo
region of what is now South Africa's Eastern Cape Province. She held a number of jobs in various parts of what was then the Bantustan
of Transkei
, including with the Transkei government, living at various times in Bizana, Shawbury
and Johannesburg
.
She met lawyer and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela
in 1957. They were married in 1958 and had two daughters, Zenani (also called Zeni) (b.1959) and Zindzi (b.1960). In June 2010, Winnie was treated for shock after the death of her great granddaughter, Zenani, who was killed in a car accident on the eve of the opening of South Africa's World Cup. She has diabetes
.
Despite restrictions on education of blacks during apartheid, Mandela earned a degree in social work from the Jan Hofmeyer School in Johannesburg
, and several years later earned a Bachelor's degree in international relations
from the University of Witwatersrand, also in Johannesburg. She is also a qualified Social Worker.
in the Orange Free State
and confined to the area, except for the times she was allowed to visit her husband at the prison on Robben Island
. Beginning in 1969, she spent eighteen months in solitary confinement at Pretoria Central Prison.
In a leaked letter to Jacob Zuma
in October 2008, just-resigned President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki
alluded to the role the ANC created for her in the anti-apartheid activism:
, the most noteworthy example of this being a speech she gave in Munsieville
on 13 April 1986, where she endorsed the practice of necklacing
(burning people alive using tyres and petrol) in the struggle to end apartheid. She said, "with our boxes of matches and our necklaces we shall liberate this country".
Further tarnishing her reputation were accusations by her bodyguard, Jerry Musivuzi Richardson, that Winnie Madikizela-Mandela ordered kidnapping and murder. On 29 December 1988, Richardson, coach of the Mandela United Football Club (MUFC) – which acted as Mrs. Mandela's personal security detail – abducted 14-year-old James Seipei (also known as Stompie Moeketsi
) and three other youths from the home of Methodist minister Rev. Paul Verryn. Mrs. Mandela claimed that she had the youth taken to her home because she suspected the reverend was sexually abusing them. The four were beaten in order to get them to admit to sex with the reverend and Seipei was also accused of being an informer. Seipei's body was found in a field with stab wounds to the throat on 6 January 1989. This incident became a cause célèbre
for the apartheid government. In 1991, she was convicted of kidnapping and being an accessory to assault in connection with the death of Seipei. Her six-year jail sentence was reduced to a fine on appeal. The final report of the South African Truth and Reconciliation commission, issued in 1998, found "Ms Winnie Madikizela Mandela politically and morally accountable for the gross violations of human rights committed by the MUFC."
She remained popular among many ANC supporters, and, in December 1993 and April 1997, she was elected president of the ANC Women's League, though she withdrew her candidacy for ANC Deputy President at the movement's Mafikeng
conference in December 1997. In 1997, she appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Archbishop Desmond Tutu
as chairman of the commission recognised her importance in the anti-apartheid struggle, but also begged her to apologise and to admit her mistakes. In a guarded response, she echoed his words, admitting that "things went horribly wrong".
Shortly after the conviction, she resigned from all leadership positions in the ANC, including her parliamentary seat and the presidency of the ANC Women's League.
In July 2004, an appeal judge of the Pretoria
High Court ruled that "the crimes were not committed for personal gain". The judge overturned the conviction for theft, but upheld the one for fraud, handing her a three years and six months suspended sentence.
In June 2007, the Canadian High Commission in South Africa declined to grant Winnie Mandela a visa
to travel to Toronto, Canada, where she was scheduled to attend a gala fundraising
concert organised by arts organisation MusicaNoir, which included the world premiere of The Passion of Winnie, an opera based on her life.
and spread throughout the country, and blamed the government's lack of suitable housing provisions for the sentiments behind the riots. She also apologised to the victims of the riots and visited the Alexandra township
.
She also offered her home as a shelter for an immigrant family from the Democratic Republic of the Congo
. She warned that the perpetrators of the violence could strike at the Gauteng train system
.
, behind party president and current President of South Africa Jacob Zuma
, former President of South Africa Kgalema Motlanthe, Deputy President of South Africa
Baleka Mbete
, and Finance Minister Trevor Manuel
. An article in The Observer
suggested that her position near the top of the list indicated that the party's leadership saw her as a valuable asset in the election with regard to solidifying support among the party's grassroots and the poor.
. In the interview, she attacked her ex-husband, claiming that he had "let blacks down", claiming that he was only "wheeled out to collect money", and that he is "nothing more than a foundation". She further attacked his decision to accept the Nobel Peace Prize
with FW De Klerk. Among other things, she also claimed that Mandela was no longer "accessible" to her daughters. She referred to archbishop Desmond Tutu, in his capacity as the head of the Truth and Reconciliation commission, as a "cretin".
The interview attracted media attention, and the ANC announced it would ask her to explain the apparent attack on Nelson Mandela.
On 14 March 2010 a statement was issued on behalf of Winnie Mandela claiming that the interview was a "fabrication".
in the TV movie Mandela. Tina Lifford portrayed Winnie Mandela in the 1997 TV drama Mandela and De Klerk; Sophie Okonedo
portrayed her in the BBC television
drama Mrs Mandela, first broadcast on BBC Four
on 25 January 2010.
Jennifer Hudson
will play her in the upcoming biopic film, Winnie
, directed by Darrell J. Roodt
, to be released in Canada by D Films in December 2011. Andre Pieterse, Roodt and Paul L. Johnson based the film's script on Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob's biography, Winnie Mandela: A Life. The Creative Workers Union of South Africa have opposed this choice, stating they will push for a moratorium on the film if the casting is not reversed.
African National Congress Women's League
The African National Congress Women's League is the women's wing of the African National Congress . It was founded in 1931 as the Bantu Women's League, with Charlotte Maxeke as its first president. It was integrated into the ANC during the period from 1943, when women were first admitted as...
. She is currently a member of the ANC's National Executive Committee
National Executive Committee (African National Congress)
The ANC National Executive Committee is the chief executive organ of the South African political party, the African National Congress. It is elected at every National Conference; the executive committee, in turn, elects a National Working Committee for day-to-day decision-making responsibilities.On...
. Although still married to Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
at the time of his becoming president of South Africa in May 1994, the couple had separated two years earlier. Their divorce was finalised on 19 March 1996, with an unspecified out-of-court settlement. Winnie Mandela's attempt to obtain a settlement up to US$5 million, half of what she claimed her ex-husband was worth, was dismissed when she failed to appear at court for a financial settlement hearing.
A controversial activist, she is popular among her supporters, who refer to her as the 'Mother of the Nation', yet reviled by others, mostly due to her alleged involvement in several human rights abuses, including the 1988 kidnapping of 14-year old ANC activist Stompie Moeketsi
Stompie Moeketsi
James Seipei , also known as Stompie Moeketsi, was a teenage African National Congress activist from Parys in South Africa...
, who was later murdered.
In March 2009, the Independent Electoral Commission ruled that Winnie Mandela, who was selected as an ANC candidate, could run in the April 2009 general election
South African general election, 2009
South Africa held national and provincial elections to elect a new National Assembly as well as the provincial legislature in each province on 22 April 2009....
, despite having a fraud conviction.
Early life
Her XhosaXhosa language
Xhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa. Xhosa is spoken by approximately 7.9 million people, or about 18% of the South African population. Like most Bantu languages, Xhosa is a tonal language, that is, the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meanings when said...
name is Nomzamo (she who tries). Umzamo means attempt (trying to accomplish something). The prefix "No-" means "mother of". No+umzamo = Nomzamo, which literally means "the mother of attempt". She was born in the village of eMbongweni, Bizana
Bizana, Eastern Cape
Bizana is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Mbizana Local Municipality....
, in the Pondo
Pondo
The Pondo or Phondo are an ethnic group who have given their name to Pondoland, a sub-region comprising much of the northern seaboard of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The Pondo comprises several tribal groups that are all defined as amaXhosa and speak the Xhosa language...
region of what is now South Africa's Eastern Cape Province. She held a number of jobs in various parts of what was then the Bantustan
Bantustan
A bantustan was a territory set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa , as part of the policy of apartheid...
of Transkei
Transkei
The Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...
, including with the Transkei government, living at various times in Bizana, Shawbury
Shawbury
Shawbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Shropshire. The village is north east of the town of Shrewsbury, north west of Telford and north west of London. The village straddles the A53 between Shrewsbury and Market Drayton...
and Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
.
She met lawyer and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
in 1957. They were married in 1958 and had two daughters, Zenani (also called Zeni) (b.1959) and Zindzi (b.1960). In June 2010, Winnie was treated for shock after the death of her great granddaughter, Zenani, who was killed in a car accident on the eve of the opening of South Africa's World Cup. She has diabetes
Diabetes mellitus
Diabetes mellitus, often simply referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced...
.
Despite restrictions on education of blacks during apartheid, Mandela earned a degree in social work from the Jan Hofmeyer School in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, and several years later earned a Bachelor's degree in international relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
from the University of Witwatersrand, also in Johannesburg. She is also a qualified Social Worker.
Apartheid
Mandela emerged as a leading opponent of the white minority rule government during the later years of her husband's long imprisonment (August 1963 – February 1990). For many of those years, she was exiled to the town of BrandfortBrandfort
Brandfort is a small town in the Free State province of South Africa. Jacobus van Zijl, a Voortrekker elder, established a church on his farm Keerom in 1866. The community was visited by Orange Free State president Brand and, shortly afterwards, the town was named in his honour. The British built a...
in the Orange Free State
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
and confined to the area, except for the times she was allowed to visit her husband at the prison on Robben Island
Robben Island
Robben Island is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 km west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, Cape Town, South Africa. The name is Dutch for "seal island". Robben Island is roughly oval in shape, 3.3 km long north-south, and 1.9 km wide, with an area of 5.07 km². It is flat and only a...
. Beginning in 1969, she spent eighteen months in solitary confinement at Pretoria Central Prison.
In a leaked letter to Jacob Zuma
Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is the President of South Africa, elected by parliament following his party's victory in the 2009 general election....
in October 2008, just-resigned President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is a South African politician who served two terms as the second post-apartheid President of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008. He is also the brother of Moeletsi Mbeki...
alluded to the role the ANC created for her in the anti-apartheid activism:
In the context of the global struggle for the release of political prisoners in our country, our movement took a deliberate decision to profile Nelson Mandela as the representative personality of these prisoners, and therefore to use his personal political biography, including the persecution of his then wife, Winnie Mandela, dramatically to present to the world and the South African community the brutality of the apartheid system.
Violent rhetoric and murder allegations
Mandela's reputation was damaged by her bloodthirsty rhetoricRhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
, the most noteworthy example of this being a speech she gave in Munsieville
Munsieville
Munsieville is a township situated in the Krugersdorp area in Gauteng Province, South Africa. It was established by ordinance 58 of 1903 of the Krugersdorp municipality and called "the native location". From the early 1930s to the 1940s, Mr...
on 13 April 1986, where she endorsed the practice of necklacing
Necklacing
Necklacing is the practice of summary execution and torture carried out by forcing a rubber tyre, filled with petrol, around a victim's chest and arms, and setting it on fire...
(burning people alive using tyres and petrol) in the struggle to end apartheid. She said, "with our boxes of matches and our necklaces we shall liberate this country".
Further tarnishing her reputation were accusations by her bodyguard, Jerry Musivuzi Richardson, that Winnie Madikizela-Mandela ordered kidnapping and murder. On 29 December 1988, Richardson, coach of the Mandela United Football Club (MUFC) – which acted as Mrs. Mandela's personal security detail – abducted 14-year-old James Seipei (also known as Stompie Moeketsi
Stompie Moeketsi
James Seipei , also known as Stompie Moeketsi, was a teenage African National Congress activist from Parys in South Africa...
) and three other youths from the home of Methodist minister Rev. Paul Verryn. Mrs. Mandela claimed that she had the youth taken to her home because she suspected the reverend was sexually abusing them. The four were beaten in order to get them to admit to sex with the reverend and Seipei was also accused of being an informer. Seipei's body was found in a field with stab wounds to the throat on 6 January 1989. This incident became a cause célèbre
Cause célèbre
A is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning and heated public debate. The term is particularly used in connection with celebrated legal cases. It is a French phrase in common English use...
for the apartheid government. In 1991, she was convicted of kidnapping and being an accessory to assault in connection with the death of Seipei. Her six-year jail sentence was reduced to a fine on appeal. The final report of the South African Truth and Reconciliation commission, issued in 1998, found "Ms Winnie Madikizela Mandela politically and morally accountable for the gross violations of human rights committed by the MUFC."
Transition to democracy
During South Africa's transition to democracy, she adopted a far less conciliatory attitude than her husband toward the dominant white community. Despite being on her husband's arm when he was released in 1990, the first time the two had been seen in public for nearly thirty years, the Mandelas' 38-year marriage ended when they separated in April 1992 after it was revealed that she had been unfaithful to Nelson during his imprisonment. The couple divorced in March 1996. She then adopted the surname Madikizela-Mandela. Appointed Deputy Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology in the first post-Apartheid government (May 1994), she was dismissed eleven months later following allegations of corruption.She remained popular among many ANC supporters, and, in December 1993 and April 1997, she was elected president of the ANC Women's League, though she withdrew her candidacy for ANC Deputy President at the movement's Mafikeng
Mafikeng
Mahikeng – formerly legally, but still commonly known as Mafikeng – is the capital city of the North-West Province of South Africa. It is best known internationally for the Siege of Mafeking, the most famous engagement of the Second Boer War.Located on South Africa's border with Botswana, it is ...
conference in December 1997. In 1997, she appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
as chairman of the commission recognised her importance in the anti-apartheid struggle, but also begged her to apologise and to admit her mistakes. In a guarded response, she echoed his words, admitting that "things went horribly wrong".
Legal problems
On 24 April 2003, she was found guilty on 43 counts of fraud and 25 of theft, and her broker, Addy Moolman, was convicted on 58 counts of fraud and 25 of theft. Both had pleaded not guilty to the charges, which related to money taken from loan applicants' accounts for a funeral fund, but from which the applicants did not benefit. Madikizela-Mandela was sentenced to five years in prison.Shortly after the conviction, she resigned from all leadership positions in the ANC, including her parliamentary seat and the presidency of the ANC Women's League.
In July 2004, an appeal judge of the Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
High Court ruled that "the crimes were not committed for personal gain". The judge overturned the conviction for theft, but upheld the one for fraud, handing her a three years and six months suspended sentence.
In June 2007, the Canadian High Commission in South Africa declined to grant Winnie Mandela a visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
to travel to Toronto, Canada, where she was scheduled to attend a gala fundraising
Fundraising
Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies...
concert organised by arts organisation MusicaNoir, which included the world premiere of The Passion of Winnie, an opera based on her life.
Return to politics
When the ANC announced the election of its National Executive Committee on 21 December 2007, Mandela placed first with 2845 votes.Apology to riot victims
Madikizela criticised the anti-immigrant violence in May–June 2008 that began in JohannesburgJohannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
and spread throughout the country, and blamed the government's lack of suitable housing provisions for the sentiments behind the riots. She also apologised to the victims of the riots and visited the Alexandra township
Alexandra, Gauteng
Alexandra or Alex for short, nicknamed Gomora is a township located in Gauteng province, South Africa. It is part of Johannesburg, close to the wealthy suburb of Sandton and is bounded by Wynberg on the west, Marlboro and Kelvin on the north, Kew, Lombardy West and Lombardy East on the south...
.
She also offered her home as a shelter for an immigrant family from the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
. She warned that the perpetrators of the violence could strike at the Gauteng train system
Gautrain
Gautrain is an mass rapid transit railway system in Gauteng Province, South Africa, which links Johannesburg, Pretoria, and OR Tambo International Airport...
.
2009 general election
Winnie secured fifth place on the ANC's electoral list for the 2009 general electionSouth African general election, 2009
South Africa held national and provincial elections to elect a new National Assembly as well as the provincial legislature in each province on 22 April 2009....
, behind party president and current President of South Africa Jacob Zuma
Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is the President of South Africa, elected by parliament following his party's victory in the 2009 general election....
, former President of South Africa Kgalema Motlanthe, Deputy President of South Africa
Deputy President of South Africa
The Deputy President of South Africa is the acting President of South Africa when the President is outside the country's borders, unable to fulfill the duties of the office, or when the Presidency is vacant. The Deputy President is also a member of the National Assembly and the Cabinet...
Baleka Mbete
Baleka Mbete
Baleka Mbete is the former Deputy President of South Africa. She was previously Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa from 2004 to 2008....
, and Finance Minister Trevor Manuel
Trevor Manuel
Trevor Andrew Manuel is a South African politician, currently serving in the Cabinet of South Africa as Minister in the Presidency in charge of the National Planning Commission...
. An article in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
suggested that her position near the top of the list indicated that the party's leadership saw her as a valuable asset in the election with regard to solidifying support among the party's grassroots and the poor.
2010 interview with Nadira Naipaul
In 2010, Madikizela-Mandela was interviewed by Nadira NaipaulNadira Naipaul
Nadira, Lady Naipaul is a Pakistani journalist and the wife of novelist Sir Vidiadhar Naipaul. She was born Nadira Khannum Alvi in Pakistan and was raised in Kenya. She worked as a journalist for Pakistani newspaper, The Nation for ten years before meeting Naipaul...
. In the interview, she attacked her ex-husband, claiming that he had "let blacks down", claiming that he was only "wheeled out to collect money", and that he is "nothing more than a foundation". She further attacked his decision to accept the Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
with FW De Klerk. Among other things, she also claimed that Mandela was no longer "accessible" to her daughters. She referred to archbishop Desmond Tutu, in his capacity as the head of the Truth and Reconciliation commission, as a "cretin".
The interview attracted media attention, and the ANC announced it would ask her to explain the apparent attack on Nelson Mandela.
On 14 March 2010 a statement was issued on behalf of Winnie Mandela claiming that the interview was a "fabrication".
In media
Mandela was first portrayed by Alfre WoodardAlfre Woodard
Alfre Ette Woodard is an American film, stage, and television actress. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award and Grammy Awards, 17 times for Emmy Awards , and has also won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.She is known for her role in films such as Cross Creek, Miss...
in the TV movie Mandela. Tina Lifford portrayed Winnie Mandela in the 1997 TV drama Mandela and De Klerk; Sophie Okonedo
Sophie Okonedo
Sophie Okonedo, OBE is a British actress, who has starred both in successful British and American productions. In 1991, she made her acting debut in the British critically acclaimed coming-of-age drama, Young Soul Rebels...
portrayed her in the BBC television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
drama Mrs Mandela, first broadcast on BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
on 25 January 2010.
Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Kate Hudson is an American recording artist, actress and spokesperson. She came to prominence in 2004 as one of the finalists on the third season of American Idol coming in seventh place...
will play her in the upcoming biopic film, Winnie
Winnie (film)
Winnie is an upcoming drama film adaptation of Anne Marie du Preez Bezrob's biography Winnie Mandela: A Life. The film is directed by Darrell Roodt, and will star Jennifer Hudson, Terrence Howard, Wendy Crewson, and Elias Koteas.-Plot:...
, directed by Darrell J. Roodt
Darrell Roodt
Darrell Roodt is a South African film director, screenwriter and producer.His film Sarafina was screened out of competition at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.-Awards:...
, to be released in Canada by D Films in December 2011. Andre Pieterse, Roodt and Paul L. Johnson based the film's script on Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob's biography, Winnie Mandela: A Life. The Creative Workers Union of South Africa have opposed this choice, stating they will push for a moratorium on the film if the casting is not reversed.
External links
- "Fall of Winnie Mandela Began Nearly 2 Years Ago; Erratic Behavior Preceded Recent Violence", Washington Post, 18 February 1989
- "Winnie Mandela on bank fraud charges", Telegraph, 15 October 2001
- "Mrs Mandela defies accusers", Telegraph, 5 December 1997
- "Winnie Mandela 'had hand in boy's murder'", Telegraph, 9 December 1997
- "Special Investigation into the Mandela United Football Club"
- The Lady: the life and times of Winnie Mandela by Emma Gilbey. London: Vintage, 1994. ISBN 0 09 938801 4
- NEC statement on Mandela Football Club, 19 February 1989
- "Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Biography Summary
- "Winnie Mandela and the Moffies"
- Japan Today News report on Winnie Mandela
- Can Winnie Mandela's Heroism Outshine her Crimes? by BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, 25 January 2010