‘She was an example to all’ – Zuma praises Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
By Penwell Dlamini |SowetanLive|
Former president Jacob Zuma says the country has lost one of its pillars and strong leader in Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
Speaking at Mama Winnie’s home in Orlando West‚ Soweto‚ on Wednesday‚ Zuma said he was shocked at learning that the mother of the nation was gone.
“I was shocked because she would go to the hospital and come out. It had become a comforting thing that whenever she went . . . she would come back. It was a big shock. It was not just a shock to me and my family but to everyone . . . It was too sudden.
“. . . Not just a mother to the family but a mother to the organisation‚ the ANC‚ and a mother to the nation. One of our pillars has fallen . . . She was a leader‚ recognised not just within the ANC but the country and by the world. Not because she was a wife of our leader‚ our icon Nelson Mandela‚ but because in her own name and right‚ she made a contribution to our struggle‚” Zuma said.
