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Just In: Winnie Mandela Dies at 81

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Nomzamo Winifred Madikizela-Mandela‚ a stalwart in the fight against apartheid‚ has died at the age of 81.

Her PA‚ Zodwa Zwane‚ confirmed the struggle veteran’s death on Monday afternoon.

“It is with profound sadness that we inform the public that Mrs Winnie Madikizela-Mandela passed away at the Netcare Milpark Hospital‚ Johannesburg‚ South Africa on Monday April 2‚ 2018.

She died after a long illness‚ for which she had been in and out of hospital since the start of the year. She succumbed peacefully in the early hours of Monday afternoon surrounded by her family and loved ones,” the family said in a statement today.

The family will release details of the memorial and funeral services once these have been finalised.

Born in Bizana in the Eastern Cape in 1936‚ she moved to Johannesburg to study social work after matriculating.

She met lawyer and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela in 1957 and they were married a year later. They had two children together.

However‚ her marriage life with Mandela was short-lived‚ as he was arrested in 1963 and sentenced to life imprisonment for treason. Mandela was eventually released in 1990.

During Mandela’s time in prison‚ Madikizela-Mandela was not spared the reach of the apartheid forces. She was placed under house arrest and at one time banished to Brandfort‚ a town in the Free State.

In 1969‚ Madikizela-Mandela became one of the first detainees under Section 6 of the notorious Terrorism Act of 1967. She was detained for 18 months in solitary confinement in a condemned cell at Pretoria Central Prison before being charged under the Suppression of Communism Act of 1950.

Controversy

In 1991‚ she was convicted of kidnapping and being an accessory to assault of Stompie Seipei‚ a young activist who was killed by a member of her bodyguards‚ the Mandela United Football Club.

Madikizela-Mandela’s bodyguards had abducted Seipei‚ 14‚ in 1989‚ along with three other youths‚ from the home of Methodist minister Paul Verryn.

Her six-year jail sentence was reduced to a fine and a two-year suspended sentence on appeal.

Her marriage to Mandela began to flounder a few years after his release.

A letter she purportedly wrote to her young lover found its way into the newspapers.

“You’re running around f…ing at the slightest emotional excuse‚” she wrote.

“The fact that I haven’t been speaking to Tata [Nelson Mandela] for five months now over you is no longer your concern. I keep telling you the situation is deteriorating at home. You are not bothered because you are satisfying yourself every night with a woman‚” Madikizela-Mandela reportedly wrote.

In his book Odyssey to Freedom‚ veteran advocate George Bizos described how Mandela would not attend legal consultations Bizos had with Madikizela-Mandela during the Seipei trial.

“He drew the line at attending our consultations‚ primarily because these meetings were also attended by the young lawyer … her lover during the latter part of Nelson’s imprisonment and after he was released‚” Bizos wrote in his book.

The couple divorced in 1996‚ 37 years after their marriage.

After the first democratic election in 1994‚ Madikizela-Mandela became an MP and was appointed deputy minister of arts and culture. She was fired by Mandela after an unauthorised trip to Ghana.

She had been an MP ever since‚ despite limited appearances in Parliament in the past few years.

In 2016‚ she was conferred an Order of Luthuli in Silver during the National Orders Awards ceremony for her excellent contribution to the fight for the liberation of the people of South Africa.

Source: Herald

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Sanusi Lamido Remains Emir, Kano Govt Insists, Says Appeal Court Can’t Contradict Itself

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Kano State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Haruna Isa Dederi, has insisted that the ruling of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on the lingering emirship tussle has not invalidated the reinstatement of Muhammadu Sanusi II as the 16th Emir.

Besides, Dederi declared that having passed a landmark verdict on January 10, 2025, reaffirming the power of the Kano State Government to reappoint Sanusi, it is impossible for the Court of Appeal to set aside or quash its own decision on the same matter.

The Attorney General made this position known to journalists while reacting to Friday’s ruling of the Appellate Court on the application for a stay of execution filed by Alh. Aminu Baba DanAgundi, one of the kingmakers loyal to the 15th Emir of Kano, Alh. Aminu Ado Bayero, pending the determination of the appeal at the Supreme Court.

According to Dederi, the matter is functus officio, adding that only the Supreme Court has the power to set aside the decision of the Appeal Court handed down by Justice Mohammad Mustapha on January 10, 2025.

“The Appeal Court today, after hearing their application for a stay of execution, ruled that the status quo should rather be maintained as it is now until after the judgment of the Supreme Court. They have filed an appeal at the Supreme Court.

“It doesn’t mean that the judgment delivered on January 10, 2025, has been quashed. That judgment is still standing, still in place, and subsisting. The Court of Appeal cannot reverse its own decision. It is not possible. Only the Supreme Court has the power to set aside the judgment given by a lower court.

“So, the Court of Appeal, Abuja, today has just said that execution of the judgment has been stayed pending the outcome of the appeal, which has been filed at the Supreme Court by Aminu Baba DanAgundi on behalf of Bayero,” Dederi noted.

It would be recalled that on January 10, 2025, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, led by Justice Mustapha, set aside the judgment of Justice A. Liman of the Federal High Court, Kano, which nullified the steps and actions taken by the Kano State Government pursuant to the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024, including the appointment of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the 16th Emir of Kano.

The Appellate Court also dismissed the decision of the Federal High Court judge to hear the matter relating to the emirate council, ruling that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to do so. This decision upheld the removal of Bayero as the 15th Emir.

Dissatisfied with the verdict of Justice Mustapha’s panel, DanAgundi proceeded to the Supreme Court to seek the overturning of the lower court’s verdict. He also filed a motion for a stay of execution of Justice Mustapha’s judgment pending the hearing and determination of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the matter.

The application was also moved on the grounds that the applicant initially instituted the suit in Kano to protect his fundamental rights and argued that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to hear and determine the suit.

In a unanimous ruling, the three-member panel of Justices led by Justice Abang on Friday held that the application was meritorious and deserving of the court’s discretion in the interest of justice.

“The law is settled. The court is enjoined to exercise its discretion judiciously and in the interest of justice,” Justice Abang said

Justice Abang held that the mandatory injunction ordered that the status quo ante bellum be maintained by the sheriff of this court and the trial court as it was before the trial court’s decision on 13/6/2024 in Suit No. FHC/KN/CS/182/2024.

In granting the injunction, Justice Abang emphasised that the applicant’s process was competent and had met all the necessary legal conditions required to obtain the relief sought.

He noted that a valid appeal was already pending before the Supreme Court, reinforcing the need to preserve the subject matter of the litigation.

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Obi Employs Sarcasm, Mocks Tinubu on Prevailing Hardship

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Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has taken a swipe at President Bola Tinubu, sarcastically praising him for fulfilling his promise to continue where former President Muhammadu Buhari left off.

Speaking during a visit to Governor Bala Mohammed in Bauchi on Thursday, Obi criticized the current administration’s handling of the economy, stating that Nigeria must now move beyond ethnic and religious politics to focus on competence and capacity.

“Tinubu promised to continue where Buhari stopped. If you look at it, Buhari left the dollar at about N400, today it is about N1,500. Rice was about N40,000, it is now over N100,000. Fuel was about N300, it is now over N1,000. I can go on and on—everything has doubled and tripled. So, he has done exactly as he promised,” Obi remarked.

Obi contrasted Nigeria’s economic performance with that of Indonesia, citing how their government transformed the country’s economy over the past decade.

“In Indonesia, a president was sworn in about the same time as another one in Nigeria. Ten years later, Indonesia moved their GDP from $800 billion to $1.3 trillion, and their per capita income from $3,000 to $5,000.

Here in Nigeria, our GDP fell from $500 billion to $200 billion, and per capita income dropped from $3,500 to below $2,000—that is the difference,” he explained.

He further emphasized the need to revive Nigeria’s industries, invest in education and healthcare, and steer the nation towards productive governance.

Obi stated that his meeting with Governor Bala Mohammed was part of a broader discussion on addressing the country’s challenges.

“We have just started discussions. You can’t consummate a marriage in one day. But the most important thing is that our thoughts are centered on issues that affect the ordinary Nigerian.

We want a Nigeria where a child of nobody can become somebody. We will eliminate the elite conspiracy that uses tribalism and religion to divide the people. We have voted for tribe and religion before; now, we must vote for competence and capacity,” Obi declared.

Governor Bala Mohammed affirmed that their collaboration transcends party lines, religious affiliations, and geopolitical interests for the betterment of Nigeria.

“Our collaboration is beyond party, religion, and personal interests. The government in power thrives on division, but we will use knowledge, strategy, and unity to build a better Nigeria,” the governor stated.

Obi’s visit signals a growing political alliance among opposition figures, with a focus on economic recovery, national unity, and leadership accountability ahead of future elections.

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Fubara Bows to Pressure, Invites Pro-Wike awmakers to Peace Meeting

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Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminialayi Fubara has extended an olive branch to lawmakers loyal to his rival, Nyesome Wike.

The governor invited the Amaewhule-led House of Assembly members to a peace meeting, following the Supreme Court’s judgement on the state’s political unrest.

The invitation was made through a letter from Dr. Tammy Danagogo, Secretary to the State Government, to Speaker Martins Amaewhule.

The meeting is scheduled for Monday at 10 am at the Government House in Port Harcourt.

The agenda includes addressing lingering issues, presenting the 2025 state budget, and discussing payment of lawmakers’ allowances.

The letter read: “I hereby write in furtherance of His Excellency’s promise stated in my letter dated 5th March 2025 to notify you that His Excellency has received the Supreme Court Judgment, and has therefore directed me to invite you and your colleagues -the Honourable members of Rivers State House of Assembly, to a meeting to discuss:-

“Provision of a befitting space for the Assembly’s sittings. Payment of all outstanding remuneration or allowances of the Honourable members. Presentation of Budget and sundry matters;

“Any other matter(s), as may be necessary, to chart the way forward in the best interest of the State. Sequel to the above, I hereby humbly invite the Rt. Hon. Speaker, and all the Rivers State House of Assembly members to a meeting with the Governor as follows.”

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