Winnie Madikizela-Mandela hospitalized in South Africa

[News_Editor]

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela hospitalized in South Africa

2011-11-18 22:09:47 GMT+7 (ICT)

JOHANNESBURG (BNO NEWS) -- Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the ex-wife of anti-apartheid activist and former South African President Nelson Mandela, has been hospitalized in Johannesburg, their daughter said on Friday.

Zindzi Mandela said her mother Winnie, 75, is being treated at Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg for an 'existing diabetes condition'. She gave no other details, but it comes just a day after Winnie failed to attend a scheduled meeting with residents of the Moqhaka municipality in the Free State.

Two months ago, in September, Winnie was briefly hospitalized at the Life Brenthurst Clinic in Johannesburg for a 'minor' foot operation. Few details about the operation were released, but her latest hospitalization is believed to be unrelated.

Winnie was married to Nelson Mandela from 1957 until March 1996, when a South African judge granted Nelson's petition for a divorce because he saw no likelihood that the couple would ever be reconciled. Nelson testified amid a media circus that Winnie was having an affair with a young colleague and never entered his bedroom while he was awake.

Winnie was a driving force in ending apartheid in South Africa and tirelessly campaigned for the release of Nelson during his 27-year imprisonment. But her image later became tarnished by her alleged involvement in human rights abuses and a fraud conviction.

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