Winnie Mandela 
Biography of Winnie Mandela
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (1936-2018) was University Rector from 1987 until 1990.
In 1958 Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela married the lawyer and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela. Her husband was imprisoned in South Africa from 1962 until 1990 and Madikizela-Mandela came to be a focus for those campaigning there and abroad for his release and an end to apartheid.
In 1987 the unsuccessful candidates for rector were Esmond Wright, a former lecturer at the University; the teacher Kenneth Dyer; the University graduate Neil Henderson, and the anti-apartheid campaigner Bishop Isaac Mokoena. Mandela was not permitted to leave South Africa to attend the election or the installation.
In 1987 Winnie Mandela was implicated in a murder in a South African township, and she was subsequently convicted of kidnapping and other crimes. In 1989 there were calls for her to resign as Rector, on the grounds that she had devalued the office by showing scant regard for the rule of law. Nelson and Winnie Mandela separated in 1992 and divorced four years later, but she remained a prominent figure in South African politics. She died in Johannesburg on 2 April 2018
Summary
Winnie Mandela
Politician
Born 1936, Bizana, South Africa.
Died 2 April 2018.
GU Degree:
University Link: Rector
Occupation categories: politicians
Record last updated: 5th Sep 2018
Country Associations
South Africa
Place of Birth