Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the famous South African anti-apartheid campaigner who was also the former wife of the late President Nelson Mandela, has died at the age of 81, according to BBC News. The news of the longtime activist’s death came from her personal assistant, per the report. Another family member confirmed the news to CNN shortly thereafter.
In an official statement, family spokesperson Victor Dlamini said Madikizela-Mandela “died after a long illness, for which she had been in and out of [the] hospital since the start of the year.” He added, “She succumbed peacefully in the early hours of Monday afternoon surrounded by her family and loved ones.” Aside from these brief revelations, however, no other details about the nature of Madikizela-Mandela’s illness or hospital stay were released to the public.
Her return to political life during the 2000s was marred by scandal, yet Madikizela-Mandela’s individual accomplishments against apartheid policies in South Africa during the end of the previous century — as well as those she achieved with her ex-husband Nelson Mandela, the country’s first black president — remain intact. The pair was married for 38 years (including Nelson’s 27 years in prison) before they separated and eventually divorced in 1996. Despite this, Madikizela-Mandela kept a hyphenated version of her ex-husband’s surname.