Panafrican News Agency

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela loses claim to Mandela's home

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – Winnie Madikizela-Mandela on Friday lost her claim to former President Nelson Mandela's Qunu home where the world statesman was born and buried.

The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein dismissed her appeal to overturn a 2016 decision by the Eastern Cape High Court which rejected her application to acquire the famous rural home.

She argued that the property was built on land allocated to her in 1989 but the Royal House of Mandela which is headed by Mandela’s grandson, Mandla, has rejected her claims.

Madikizela-Mandela was married to Nelson Mandela for 38 years, including 27 years during which he was imprisoned. Although they were still married at the time of his becoming president of South Africa in May 1994, the couple had separated two years earlier. Their divorce was finalised on 19 March 1996,

She remains popular among her supporters, who refer to her as the "Mother of the Nation", yet reviled by others after the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission found that she had personally been responsible for the murder, torture, abduction, and assault of numerous men, women, and children, as well as indirectly responsible for an even larger number of such crimes.

Nelson Mandela died in 2013 after a long illness.
-0- PANA CU/VAO 19Jan2018