Free Winnie Mandela by Anné Mariè du Preez Bezdrob Page A

lawyer named Nelson Mandela – who was rapidly emerging as a leader in the liberation struggle – orchestrated what became known as the Defiance Campaign. Winnie and her friends knew all about this legend in the making, and about other ANC leaders whom they idolised, sang songs and talked about for hours. The campaign was to be a non-violent protest against the ‘Europeans Only’ signs in public areas such as post offices and railway stations, and against the newly introduced pass laws and urban curfews for blacks. Anyone taking part was inviting arrest, and many chose imprisonment over bail or an admission of guilt fine.
    At Shawbury, the pupils gushed with pride and excitement when they read in Zonk and Drum , popular magazines among blacks, that 8 500 people were prepared to flout the discriminatory laws. Of those, 8 000 were arrested. Some of the Shawbury pupils decided that they, too, wanted to defy authority by boycotting their classes, citing inadequate facilities and unsatisfactory hostel conditions.
    Winnie found herself in a predicament. Her final examinations were looming, and mindful of the sacrifices Columbus and Nancy had made on her behalf, she knew her first obligation was to complete her education. As head prefect she was also expected to help maintain discipline, and although her sympathies lay with her fellow pupils, she showed a wisdom and maturity way beyond her years, and decided she would not take part in the boycott.
    The Shawbury ‘uprising’ made news throughout the country, with newspapers carrying front-page pictures of protesting girls in school uniforms. The fact that schoolchildren had become involved in the protests sparked an outcry fromwhites, and caused outrage and consternation among the authorities, who were already uneasy about the Defiance Campaign. The Education Department acted ruthlessly and expelled a large number of pupils. Only those due to write the matriculation exams, and who were not among the agitators, were allowed to remain at school. The rest were told to reapply for admission in the new year.
    Winnie left Shawbury with a first-class pass, and when she arrived home for the holidays learned the happy news that after six years as a widower, Columbus had decided to marry again. Winnie’s new stepmother was an unmarried schoolmistress, Hilda Nophikela, who was warm and kind and welcomed into the family by all the Madikizela children. A special bond developed between Winnie and Hilda, but Makhulu was far from impressed. She refused to go and meet her son’s bride-to-be, insisting that Hilda should come to her – clearly intending to slight the newcomer. She told the children bitingly that Hilda was interested only in Columbus’s money, and would take what was rightfully their inheritance. Hilda refused to be drawn into the conflict and went to Makhulu’s house as ordered, wearing her veil. It was tradition to slaughter a beast in honour of the meeting, but Makhulu shocked the family by halting the ceremony, declaring that this union did not warrant the ritual slaughter of an animal.
    For the first time, Winnie and her siblings realised that their strong-willed grandmother’s troubled relationship with their mother had little or nothing to do with Gertrude, and everything to do with Makhulu’s prejudices and preconceptions.
    Fortunately, the unpleasantness was soon pushed into the background as Winnie and her family became caught up in planning for her further studies in Johannesburg. She adored and trusted her father, accepting without question that he had made the right choices for her, and was confident that she was ready to step into the adult world.
    She was, in fact, already a quite remarkable young woman. Columbus had sown the seeds of political awareness and concern for others, but it was the female members of her family that had shaped her other traits. From Makhulu she inherited an imperious dignity, and from Granny, her strict adherence to hygiene and love