The legacy of Struggle icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela remained a point of contention yesterday, with US civil rights activist Jesse Jackson calling on black South Africans to protect it from being defined by “enemies”.
Jackson was speaking at the Gauteng legislature, which held a special sitting for recently fallen ANC stalwarts Madikizela-Mandela, and former ambassadors Zola Skweyiya and George Nene.
Jackson said Madikizela-
Mandela played a unique role in the fight against oppression and that her mark was beyond question, especially by those who were not alongside her during the fight against the brutal apartheid regime.
“When Mandela and other leaders were in jail, when Oliver (Tambo) was in exile with other leaders and (Thabo) Mbeki was at school, Winnie was the one who was not in exile or jail.
"She took the stripes and was the object of the enemy, and so by her stripes we healed. The fact that we allowed the enemy to define who she was is a big mistake. It is us who should define her,” Jackson said.
His remarks come after the country’s political elite were pitted against each other by a documentary titled Winnie, by French film-maker Pascale Lamche, which detailed the legacy and the story of the political neutralisation of Madikizela-Mandela by both the apartheid establishment and fellow ANC leaders after the dawn of democracy.
Jackson also lamented that while the apartheid regime was overthrown in 1994, inequalities had escalated at the expense of the black majority.
He said the South African political elite had to realise that the land reform formula had also failed.
“It seems to me that what we have come to grips with is that we (black people) are freer and whites are richer. That is because without the apartheid pressures, there are no constraints on capital coming to them. Access to capital is another stage of our struggle. It is not enough to be free without equality, free without land, free without the economy,” he said.
He said he was also shocked after speaking to a head of a car manufacturer with 60 dealerships around the country, whom he asked how many were owned by black South Africans. He said none.
DA caucus leader John Moodey called for restraint in using Madikizela-Mandela to divide the country.
ANC provincial chief whip Brian Hlongwa used his speaking time to accuse both the EFF and the DA of being among those who tried to rewrite Madikizela-Mandela’s legacy for political mileage.
“Both her friends and foes, each seek a pound of her flesh. History has no blank pages,” Hlongwa said.