Ramaphosa apologises for ‘not properly honouring Mam’ Winnie’

President Cyril Ramaphosa apologised to the late Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and her family for neglecting her and for the ANC’s failure to honour her while she was still alive.

He immediately announced that the ANC would consider bestowing on the struggle icon its highest award, Isithwalandwe Seaparankoe, an honour reserved for those who have made an outstanding contribution and sacrifice to the liberation struggle.

Isithwalandwe, which literally means “the one who wears the plumes of the rare bird” was traditionally bestowed only on the bravest warriors and those who distinguished themselves in the eyes of all the people for exceptional qualities of leadership and heroism.

In a eulogy delivered at Madikizela-Mandela’s funeral service at Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Saturday, Ramaphosa admitted on the ANC’s behalf that they had failed Madikizela Mandela.

“As we bid her farewell, we are forced to admit that too often as she rose, she rose alone. Too often, we were not there for her,” he said.

He said he felt pain when her elder daughter Zenani related her mother’s suffering and how she lived a very difficult life. Zenani was overcome with emotions during the visit by the ANC top leadership prior to her burial.

“That statement and those tears have stayed with me since that day. Zenani’s tears revealed Mam’ Winnie’s wounds,” Ramaphosa said.

The ANC endured harsh criticism from different quarters for isolating Madikizela-Mandela before and after 1994.

At the funeral, EFF leader Julius Malema took a swipe at the ANC and its former internal wing, the United Democratic Front, which he said dissociated itself from her during the apartheid era.

Malema also claimed some ANC Women’s League members had rejected her.

Ramaphosa said now was the time to heal the wounds of the past. He appealed to Malema to realise that Madikizela-Mandela wanted unity and healing among all South Africans.

“She spoke of her deep desire for unity and the renewal not only of the movement that she loved dearly, but of the nation. She wanted a South African nation that would heal the divisions of the past and eradicate the inequality and injustice of the present,” Ramaphosa said.

Ramaphosa promised on Saturday that he would visit Marikana in North West to honour one of Madikizela-Mandela’s wishes.

Ramaphosa has not set foot in Marikana since 34 people, mostly mine workers, were shot dead by police on August 16, 2012, during a violent wildcat strike over wages at Lonmin’s platinum mine, of which Ramaphosa was a non-executive director at the time.

“Mama, you are gone now. We were still supposed to do a lot of things together. I am going to go to Marikana without you, but I will be guided by your spirit. I know that Julius [Malema, Economic Freedom Fighters leader] will come with me so that we can heal the wounds of those in Marikana.”

He went on to say she stood alone as a bulwark against the apartheid regime, when she wiped away people’s tears, carried their coffins and inspired violence-fatigued communities to carry on. She was a witness to the truths and horrors of our nation, not only because of her own hardships but because of her courage. Ramaphosa likened Madikizela-Mandela to the women who went to Jesus’s tomb after the men ran away.

“She was perpetually in the trenches, never afraid that it would be too much for her to bear. When it was safe to do so, the men took over again and the women were relegated to a supporting role,” Ramaphosa said.

She provided leadership at the most difficult periods and sought no reward.

“Like women throughout our society do every day, she toiled and never claimed glory. Mam’ Winnie was universal and timeless. As we continue to touch her wounds, we must be brave enough to share her life and legacy across our society and with the people she loved,” he said.

Ramaphosa asked South Africans to honour the stalwart by uniting.

“Just as Mam’ Winnie has united us in sorrow, let us honour her memory by uniting in common purpose. Let us honour her memory by pledging here that we will dedicate all our resources, all our efforts, all our energy to the empowerment of the poor and vulnerable. Let us honour her memory by pledging here that we will not betray the trust of her people, we will not squander or steal their resources, and that we will serve them diligently and selflessly,” he said.

Like so many of people she had lived with fear, pain, loss and disappointment and yet each day she rose with the nobleness of the human spirit. Apartheid authorities sought to denigrate her with bitter and twisted lies, but still she rose.

“They wanted to see her broken, with bowed head and lowered eyes, and weakened by soulful cries, but still she rose,” Ramaphosa said.

The president said Madikizela-Mandela might have died but she was not gone, as she lived in the poor girl who still walks the dusty streets, in the domestic worker still fighting for the rights of her children and the prisoner who regretted his choices. She also lived on in the black engineer who defied discrimination and built his career and the social worker who tended the neglected and abused in society.

She would live on in the Palestinian teenager who refused to stand by as he was stripped of his home, heritage and prospects for peace, and in an African-American women still suffering prejudice, and in her organisation, the ANC, as it sought the renewal and unity path that she aspired for.