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

Winnie Mandela, the former wife of South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, has died at the age of 81, her spokesman said.

She died in a Johannesburg hospital after a long illness, spokesman Victor Dlamini says.

Winnie Mandela, who was married to Nelson Mandela for 38 years, played a high-profile role in the battle to end white-minority rule.

In this file photo taken on April 21, 1999 Winnie Mandela addresses a crowd, in the Mnandi squattercamp some 20 km west of Pretoria. (AFP PHOTO / Odd ANDERSEN)

“It is with profound sadness that we inform the public that Mrs Winnie Madikizela-Mandela passed away at the Netcare Milpark Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa on Monday,” says a statement issued by Dlamini, a family spokesman.

“She died after a long illness, for which she had been in and out of hospital since the start of the year. She succumbed peacefully in the early hours of Monday afternoon surrounded by her family and loved ones.”

— AFP