Stompie Seipei
My Necklace Burned My Neck !
Tue Feb 17 14:25:17 2004
67.31.246.170

Monday, 8 July, 2002, 12:16 GMT 13:16 UK
Winnie Mandela faces fraud trial
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the former wife of Nelson Mandela, has appeared in court in South Africa to face 85 charges of fraud and theft.
Mrs Madikizela-Mandela, who denies the charges, arrived at the Pretoria courthouse in a car flanked by bodyguards.

"You're in my way," she told a crowd of cameramen as she entered the building accompanied by her daughter Zindzi, according to Reuters news agency.

The proceedings were adjourned for a day after the judge agreed to a defence request for further information from the prosecution.

The charges against her and co-accused, broker Addy Moolman, involve more than R1m ($100,000), allegedly obtained by fraud through her work for the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

She and Mr Moolman are accused of obtaining bank loans using her signature for fictitious members of the ANC's Women's League, which she heads.

Neither spoke in court, as lawyers embarked on an hour of legal arguments.

More than a dozen members of the ANC Women's League, which Mrs Madikizela-Mandela heads, were in the public gallery to back their president.

This is the latest in a long line of personal scandals to hit 65-year-old Ms Madikizela-Mandela, who continues to enjoy widespread support in the Commununist controlled country.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela

1957
Marries Nelson Mandela
1991:
Convicted of kidnapping Stompie Seipei
1994
Elected as ANC MP and becomes junior minister
1995
Sacked from ministerial post
1996
Divorced from Nelson Mandela on grounds of adultery
2002
On trial for fraud



Ms Madikizela-Mandela, who was divorced from the former South African president in 1996, says she is being persecuted.


'Mugger of the nation'

The BBC's Alistair Leithead says she is still one of the most famous women in South Africa, widely regarded as a champion of the poor.

But the reputation of the sitting MP has been damaged by a succession of scandals which led to the "Mother of the Nation" being nicknamed "Mugger of the Nation".

The most dramatic event involved the murder of a 14 year old boy, Stompie Seipei in Soweto township.

In 1991, she was convicted of kidnapping the young anti-apartheid activist with the help of a group of her supporters, who were part of what was known as the Mandela United Football Club.

A member of the football club was jailed for the boy's murder and Ms Madikizela-Mandela was received a six-year sentence, subsequently reduced on appeal to a fine.

In 1995, she was sacked from her ministerial post in the ANC-led government, and the following year President Mandela divorced her on grounds of adultery.

In February this year, she was evicted from the Soweto house she used to share with Mr Mandela before he went to prison under the apartheid regime. The house is due to become a museum.

Last month, she snubbed a parliamentary committee which had summoned her to explain how she lived a lavish lifestyle on her MP's salary.



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Related to this story:
Winnie: 'Africa's Evita' (08 Jul 02 | Africa) Winnie Mandela faces fraud trial (08 Jul 02 | Africa) Winnie Mandela: Fallen political heir (30 Oct 98 | Truth and Reconciliation) The Winnie factor (27 May 99 | South Africa elections)


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Internet links: ANC | About Joe Slovo
Guide picks

Joe Slovo, anti-Apartheid activist, was one of the founders of Umkhonto weSizwe (MK), the armed wing of the ANC, and was general secretary of the South African Communist Party during the 1980s.


Biography: Joe Slovo
Short biography of the anti-Apartheid activist Joe Slovo.

Quotes: Joe Slovo
A selection of quotes by (or about) the anti-Apartheid activist Joe Slovo.

The Armed Struggle Spreads
A discussion paper by Joe Slovo about the expansion of the ANC's armed struggle beyond the borders of South Africa in the mid 1980s. As submitted to the National Student Conference in Oxford, March 1986. (South African Communist Party web site.)

Leader of the ANC's Military High Command interviewed
Interview with Joe Slovo discussing the armed struggle in South Africa by the BBC World Service, 4 July 1986. (South African Communist Party web site.)

The Future of Negotiations
An interview by Gaye Davis with Joe Slovo on the future of negotiations between the ANC and President De Klerk's National Party government, 11 February 1991. (South African Communist Party web site.)

Mandela's Eulogy for Joe Slovo
Nelson Mandela's address at Joe Slovo's funeral, 15 January 1995. (African National Congress web site.)

http://www.liberation.org.za/collections/sacp/slovo/in900208.php  http://www.moreorless.au.com/heroes/slovo.htm  http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/mandela/1995/sp950115.html  ===

http://www.akjb.org/News%20Media.html  Is Communism "Jewish" ?.....Is Mandela a Real - Hero -, Was Joe Slovo a Hero....Is Multiculturalism/stupidity a "Good Thing"...what are the benefits....Higher IQ's, better PQLI numbers for "Oppressed Minorities" ?, lower infant mortality rates, Higher Life expectancy rates, Higher Literacy rates....Better Bongo noise, and pelvis thrusting at camera lenses ? Enquiring minds need to know !