ZINDZI Mandela, the daughter of South African anti-Apartheid leaders Nelson and Winnie Mandela, has died at the age of 59.
Zindzi died after a short illness at a Johannesburg hospital on Sunday evening.
The cause of her death is still unclear at the moment but the Mandela family is expected to issue a statement at midday on Monday.
She had been South Africa’s ambassador to Denmark since 2015.
The Mandelas’ daughter came to international prominence in 1985, when the white minority government offered to release Nelson Mandela from prison if he denounced violence perpetrated by his movement, the Africa National Congress, against apartheid, the brutal system of racial discrimination enforced in South Africa at that time.
Zindzi read his letter rejecting the offer at a packed public meeting that was broadcast around the world.
Zindzi Mandela was born on December 23, 1960 in Soweto, and her famous father was sent to prison when she was just 18 months old – where he remained until 1990.
Zindzi studied law at the University of Cape Town before following in her family’s political footsteps, temporarily serving as the nation’s First Lady following her father’s election and her parents’ divorce.
She held the post until Nelson Mandela married Graça Machel in 1998.
Zindzi was married twice and leaves behind four children: Zoleka, Zondwa, Bambatha and Zwelabo.
(Compiled by Inside Politics staff)
