The Breastfeeding Warrior premieres at The Nelson Mandela Foundation
Phila Portia Ndwandwe was only 23 years old when she was tortured and killed by Apartheid security police in 1988.
Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Foundation for Human Rights hosted the premiere of a documentary series, The Breastfeeding Warrior on February 29 which explores South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission process.
Truth Be Told is a documentary series showcasing four heartfelt stories of individuals who lost loved ones as a result of the atrocities of apartheid.
Episode 1 of the documentary looked at Phila PortiaNdwandwe’s murder through the eyes of her son, Thabang Mabuza, now a chartered accountant in his 30s who suffers from transgenerational trauma and is still trying to cope with the loss and anguish caused by his mother’s killing.
The documentary’s title, Breastfeeding Warrior, refers to the fact that Mabuza was only five months old and still being breastfed when his mother, an Umkhonto weSizwe soldier, was murdered.
Mabuza said the day of the screening marked one of the moments where he shared a part of him he generally does not share because it touched on a person who was not only his mother but someone who brought him into existence.
“I was a few months old when my mother was killed. It depicts the story I knew of her when I was 10 years old post-apartheid when we were back in SA, and when my father told me about the TRC which revealed that she was murdered after being abducted from Eswatini and shot in SA.”
Mabuza noted that in those 10 years, his father protected him until he told him about Ndwandwe, and he soon met his paternal side of the family.
The 34-year-old said it was important to celebrate female warriors who have played an important role in history.
Truth Be Told, director Enver Samuel explained, “The goal was to get a perspective from a family member’s eyes because these stories have not been told. We know the stories of the bigger names in history but not the stories of unsung heroes and heroines.”
Samuel added that although The Breastfeeding Warrior was about Ndwandwe, it was also a story about Thabang and his family and how they picture what happened.
“To the audience, it opens a window to a specific type of transgenerational trauma that is passed on because of what happened in the past,” said Samuel.
Nelson Mandela Foundation’s acting CEO, Verne Harris concluded that there was a reason why Madiba gave society a mandate to do difficult memory work, and what the foundation and society are learning is that if you do not reckon with your past, it will reckon with you.
“We remember to be inspired and keep fighting for the just society of Madiba’s dreams.”
Truth Be Told will air every Monday at 21:00, starting on March 4 only on SABC 3.
Related Article: The Nelson Mandela Foundation honoured the 10th anniversary of Madiba’s passing at Joburg Theatre
