EFF COMMEMORATES THE BIRTHDAY OF MAMA WINNIE MADIKIZELA-MANDELA
Saturday, 26 September 2020
The Economic Freedom Fighters commemorates the birthday of one of the most vibrant and committed revolutionaries in Africa, Mama Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Mama Winnie, who kept the fires burning in Apartheid South Africa at a time when activists were crippled by fear, imprisoned and exiled, would have turned 84-years old this year. Her contribution to the struggle for the liberation of African people remains an inspiration to this generation of economic freedom, and we will forever remain loyal to this forgotten daughter of our struggle against colonial domination.
Mama Winnie represents an idea whose time had come. She was a fearless woman. who led men at a time at which it was not fashionable to do so because of the inferiority complex that patriarchy instilled on male leaders of the revolution. She carried on her shoulders the burden of organising and inspiring African people when the brutal Apartheid regime had broken the hope and spirit of black people in the land of their birth.
Mama Winnie was a revolutionary in her own right, whose name must be inscribed in history despite the consistent efforts by her own comrades to criminalise and victimise her. She did not only fight against the Apartheid machinery, which subjected her to unspeakable evils because of her commitment to the struggle for liberation, she also had to fight those within her own ranks who were servants at the table of our oppressors. As the mother of the nation, she has been at the receiving end of unjust treatment, yet remained a champion for liberation beyond a negotiated settlement which keeps our people as servants in their motherland.
Today Mama Winnie celebrates her birthday in the presence of her most trusted and committed comrades. She is in the presence of Chris Hani, Peter Mokaba, Anton Lembede, Robert Sobukwe and Charlotte Maxeke, and looks over us as we carry the baton they passed to this generation.
The EFF takes this opportunity to wish Mama Winnie a revolutionary birthday. We reaffirm our commitment to the struggle for liberation against all obstacles in the same way that she did. Mama Winnie inspires us to fight not only for economic freedom but also defeat the evil of Gender-Based Violence and the exclusion of women from heights of power and the economy, a cause that was very close to her heart.
We take this opportunity to reiterate our call for the renaming of Cape Town International Airport to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Airport. This is a long-overdue honour that ought to be bestowed on the mother of the nation, for her unrepentant struggle against racism which perseveres in Cape Town today in so many forms. This process will give Mama Winnie the respect she deserves as an icon and liberator.
Lala ngoxolo Mama, We will continue to fight for Economic Freedom In Our Lifetime.
Statement issued by the Economic Freedom Fighters, 28 September 2020
