Zoleka Mandela, granddaughter of former South African president Nelson Mandela, has died aged 43.
Her death on Monday was announced by the Mandela family in a statement on Tuesday.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation, which promotes the legacy of the South African statesman who died in 2013, said it mourned Zoleka Mandela’s death and offered its condolences to her family.
Who was Zoleka Mandela?
Zoleka Mandela in full, Zoleka Zobuhle Mandela was a South African writer, activist, and Nelson Mandela’s granddaughter. She wrote about her addictions, her daughter’s death, and her own battles with breast cancer.
Zoleka Mandela was born on 9 April 1980, and was the daughter of Zindzi Mandela and her first husband Zwelibanzi Hlongwane.
Her mother’s family, the Mandelas, are direct descendants of King Madiba of the Thembu people and serve as chieftains of Mvezo, their ancestral chiefdom.
Zoleka Mandela spoke about s3xual abuse in her childhood. She was also addicted to drugs and alcohol for a time.
In 2010, Zoleka Mandela’s 13-year-old daughter, Zenani, was killed in a car crash on the way home from a concert.
The accident was said to be due to drugs and, at the time, Zoleka Mandela was recovering from a suicide attempt. Mandela published her autobiography in 2013.
Mandela campaigned against deaths caused by road accidents noting the particular hazards affecting sub Saharan African children who are twice as likely to be killed in car accidents as children anywhere else in the world.
“I hadn´t seen my daughter for 10 days before her passing, and I hadn´t because I chose to use drugs,” Mandela said in an interview with The Associated Press in 2013. “That´s obviously a reminder that I chose my addiction over my kids and I have to live with that for the rest of my life.”
The horror and guilt jarred her into seeking help and going into rehab for the good of her other child at the time, son Zwelami, and the memory of her daughter Zenani, she said.
Zenani’s death brought a frail-looking Nelson Mandela out to a church for his great-granddaughter’s funeral and one of his last public appearances.
Mandela was diagnosed with breast cancer barely a year after her daughter’s death, leading to a double mastectomy and grueling chemotherapy.
Her second son was born prematurely in 2011 while she was being treated for cancer and died days later. She had four surviving children at the time of her death.
She released an autobiography titled “When Hope Whispers” in 2013. It delved into what she called some of the “unbearable circumstances” of her life and how an abnormal childhood played its part. In the book, she recounted the realities of being a Mandela when South Africa was in some of its most violent throes under the apartheid system of racial segregation in the 1980s and her grandfather was in jail for leading the anti-apartheid movement.
Who are Zoleka Mandela parents?
She was the eldest of Zindziswa Mandela’s four children, born to Zindziswa’s first marriage to Zwelibanzi Hlongwane.
After Zoleka Mandela’s parents’ separation, Zenani, her aunt, raised her.
Zoleka Mandela siblings
Zobuhle had three siblings, Zondwa Mandela, Bambatha Mandela and Zwelabo Mandela.
Zoleka Mandela children
She had six children, although two of them died. Her eldest daughter, Zenani, was born in 1997. Zwelami Mandela, her eldest son, was born on 21st November 2002.
Zanyiwe Zenziwe Bashala is the second oldest daughter and was born in 2014. Zenzile Motuba Bashala, the third daughter, was born in 2019 despite her mother’s oncologist warning her against siring kids due to her cancer. Zingce Zobuhle Mandela, the youngest, was born in 2022.
Zenani died in 2010 in a car crash while on her way home from the 2010 World Cup opening ceremony in Johannesburg. Zenani was only thirteen when she died. Zenawe died in 2011 as an infant due to complications related to premature birth.
Zobuhle’s fans knew her for being a doting mother to her kids, especially since she often expressed her love for them on social media platforms. She often shared touching tributes to her deceased children on their death anniversaries.
Zoleka Mandela Family
Zoleka Mandela Father: MJ Seakamela
Zoleka Mandela Mother: Zindzi Mandela
Zoleka Mandela Siblings: Zondwa Mandela, Bambatha Mandela and Zwelabo Mandela
Zoleka Mandela Children: Zindzi Mandela and Zwelibanzi Hlongwane
Zoleka Mandela Grandparents : Nelson Mandela (grandfather) and
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (grandmother)
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