President Akufo-Addo pays glowing tribute to late Winnie Mandela

President Akufo-Addo has expressed his condolences to the family of the late Winnie Mandela, who died on 2nd April, 2018.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday morning, President Akufo-Addo paid a short but heart-warming tribute to the anti-apartheid activist, describing her as a ‘freedom’ fighter’ and ‘remarkable woman’ whose name will echo for ages.

The post read “I’m deeply saddened by the news of the death of Winnie Mandela. Her name will echo down the ages, and will forever be remembered as a freedom fighter and a remarkable woman. Rest in perfect peace “Mama Wetu.” You’ve earned it”.

South African anti-apartheid campaigner and former first lady Winnie Madikizela-Mandela died on Monday, April 2 at the age of 81.

She and her former husband, the late Nelson Mandela, who were both jailed, were a symbol of the country's anti-apartheid struggle for three decades.

Born in Bizana in the Eastern Cape in 1936‚ she moved to Johannesburg to study social work after matriculating.

She met lawyer and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela in 1957 and they were married a year later. They had two children together.

However, her marriage with Mandela was short-lived‚ as he was arrested in 1963 and sentenced to life imprisonment for treason. Mandela was eventually released in 1990.

During Mandela’s time in prison‚ Madikizela-Mandela was not spared the reach of the apartheid forces. She was placed under house arrest and at one time banished to Brandfort‚ a town in the Free State.

In 1969‚ Madikizela-Mandela became one of the first detainees under Section 6 of the notorious Terrorism Act of 1967. She was detained for 18 months in solitary confinement in a condemned cell at Pretoria Central Prison before being charged under the Suppression of Communism Act of 1950.