Winnie Madikizela studied to be a social worker and while working at Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, shared a room with Adelaide Tshukudu, later to become the wife of ANC president Oliver Tambo. Oliver Tambo was then a colleague of Nelson Mandela who worked at the same legal firm. Winnie and Nelson Mandela married in 1958 and had two daughters before he was arrested three years later in 1961.
They managed to see each other a few times during his imprisonment, but during these half an hour visits they were separated by wire mesh with a guard within listening distance. They were not allowed to speak Xhosa, only English or Afrikaans. While Nelson’s life in prison was focussed on academic pursuits, Winnie faced police harassment, intimidation, and detention, making her revolutionary struggles all the more uncomfortable for the ruling apartheid government.
Each one a giant of the anti-apartheid struggle, Winnie and Nelson’s life after his release from prison was frantic with travel, speeches, and media duties, during which they managed to share a few intimate moments, which was sometimes captured on camera. When he became president, Nelson appointed Winnie to the ANC’s head of Social Welfare. Unfortunately, the couple divorced in 1996, after almost 40 years of marriage.
“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.” ~ Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela returned to his home in Soweto after his release from prison in 1990. Nelson grew up in No. 8115 Vilakazi Street and has sinc...
Madiba laughs as his shoe comes off while kicking a soccer ball....
In 1991, Nelson Mandela received an Honorary Doctorate at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg for his commitment to the country ...
Mandela and other activists had an array of supporters that came to the court each time defendants were summoned. Pictured is a young Madiba...