South African activist Winnie Madikizela-Mandela dies

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, a South African anti-apartheid activist and ex-wife of Nelson Mandela, has died after a long illness, her family confirmed. She was 81. Madikizela-Mandela worked as a social worker when she met and married her husband in 1958. They had two children together and led the movement to end apartheid in South Africa. They divorced after 38 years of marriage, 27 of which Nelson Mandela spent in prison for his activism. He died in 2013 at age 95. Madikizela-Mandela worked throughout their marriage to end white minority rule and also faced months of imprisonment and house arrest herself. Despite her work, she was convicted and fined in 1991 for kidnapping and assault related to political violence. In 1995, she faced corruption allegations and was fired from the Cabinet. She later served in the South African Parliament. Family spokesman Victor Dlamini in a statement said illness had taken Madikizela-Mandela in and out of the hospital since the start of this year: “She succumbed peacefully in the early hours of Monday afternoon surrounded by her family and loved ones.”