Winnie Mandela, Wife of Former South African President Is Dead

by Benson Agoha in Lagos, Nigeria

Ex-wife of former South African President, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, is dead, according to news reports. Madikizela-Mandela, who died on Monday at the age of 81.

Reuters' Ed Cropley who broke the news from Johanesbourg, South Africa said Winnie Mandela was 'hailed as mother of the 'new' South Africa'.

* Winnie Mandela died surrounded by her family and loved
ones according to an ABC report. Image Credit: ABC News.

Major world media including the BBC and ABC News have already reported the death of one Africa's most renowned women.

Her campaigns were not limited to political fairness but also touched issues such as gender equality. According to media reports, the freedom fighter died following a long illness that had kept her in and out of hospital since the start of the year.

According to a statement released by her family, Winnie Mandela "... fought valiantly against the apartheid state and sacrificed her life for the freedom of the country,"

"She kept the memory of her imprisoned husband Nelson Mandela alive during his years on Robben Island and helped give the struggle for justice in South Africa one its most recognisable faces" the statement said.

Winnie Mandela was a dogged fighter and her exploits at Beijing 1995 was contributory to the famous Beijing Declaration for Gender Equality which saw South Africa's Commission for Gender Equality release the Country's Platform for Action Statement in March 2010.

May her soul rest in peace.