Nelson Mandela’s Ex-Wife Madikizela-Mandela Dies At 81

Nelson Mandela‘s ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela who was rushed to the hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa with a Kidney infection two months ago has died at age 81. Her death was confirmed by her personal assistant Zodwa Zwane earlier today.

A statement was made by the family’s spokesman Victor Dlamini. “She succumbed peacefully surrounded by her family and loved ones in the early hours of Monday afternoon,” the statement said.

“Mrs. Madikezela-Mandela was one of the greatest icons of the struggle against apartheid. She fought valiantly against the apartheid state … sacrificed her life for the freedom of the country and helped to give the struggle for justice in South Africa one of its most recognisable faces.”

“Her courageous defiance was deeply inspirational to me, and to generations of activists,” retired archbishop and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu said about the deceased.

Jeff Radebe, the South African minister of energy, said “Mama Winnie Mandela was recognised by the people as the Mother of the Nation. As the ANC we dip our banner”.

The principal of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, Adam Habib called Winnie, “the symbol of resistance in the darkest days of apartheid [who] provided hope when there was no other.”

The 81-year-old South African anti-apartheid veteran was married to former the South African President for 38 years, including the 27 years he served in jail and she maintained close ties with him despite their divorce and his second marriage in 1998.