As we continue commemorating the legacy of one of Africa’s anti-colonial heroines, South African liberation icon Winnie Mandela, who died this week in 2018, we share this video believed to be from the 1980s at the height of apartheid. The rare footage shows Mama Winnie, as she was fondly known by millions of supporters, confronting white police officers who had illegally detained Black people in the township of Soweto, on the outskirts of Johannesburg.
The video captures Mama Winnie in her element, an unwavering freedom fighter, a voice of the voiceless and one never to cower in the face of oppression.
Even after the fall of apartheid, when many former liberators turned their backs on ordinary Black South Africans, Mama Winnie continued her courageous stand, remaining in the trenches with the downtrodden masses.
For this reason, Winnie Mandela remains an inspiration and shinning light for the ongoing global struggle against imperialism.
Video credit: Pascale Lamche