MADIKIZELA-MANDELA WOULD HAVE CALLED FOR ANC’S UNITY, RENEWAL – SAYS RAMAPHOSA

The President led a delegation in a wreath-laying ceremony to honour and remember the life of the struggle stalwart on Friday, 2 April 2021 which marks the third year since Madikizela-Mandela's passing.

FILE: Winnie Madikizela-Mandela greets Cyril Ramaphosa at the ANC national policy conference at Nasrec on 30 June 2017. Picture: EWN

Veronica Mokhoali 

JOHANNESBURG – President Cyril Ramaphosa has used the anniversary of the late struggle icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's death to call for unity and renewal within the African National Congress (ANC).

The President led a delegation in a wreath-laying ceremony to honour and remember the life of the struggle stalwart on Friday, 2 April 2021.

The day marks exactly three years since the freedom fighter died at Milpark Hospital following a long illness.

While paying tribute to Madikizela-Mandela's commitment and unwavering courage to the liberation movement, Ramaphosa admitted that this was a particularly challenging time for the ANC.

He said the veteran would have been the first to call out comrades who undermined the ANC's ideals.

“She would have been at the forefront arguing that we should continue the project of uniting the ANC because when you unite the ANC you also unite the South African nation. She would have also been saying we need to focus on the whole process of renewal, and the way that it functions, and it should be principled renewal.”

Meanwhile speaking at the wreath-laying ceremony, City of Joburg Mayor Geoff Makhubo said the metro was in its final stages of the consultation process to rename William Nicol Drive to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Drive.