Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela dies at 81

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, an anti-apartheid committed person, and ex-wife of South African anti-apartheid fighter Nelson Mandela died on Monday in a Johannesburg hospital.

Madikizela-Mandela was aged 81 and died due after a prolonged illness, her spokesperson Victor Dlamini said in a statement.

Dlamini said, “She died after a long illness, for which she had been in and out of the hospital since the start of the year.”

“She succumbed peacefully in the early hours of Monday afternoon surrounded by her family and loved ones,” Dlamini added.

Madikizela-Mandela was married to Nelson Mandela at the time the latter was imprisoned on Robben Island. Both were married for 38 years. Madikizela-Mandela played a crucial role in the apartheid campaign which aimed at ending the white-minority rule in the country.