Zindzi Mandela, the youngest daughter of South Africa’s first black president Nelson Mandela has died aged 59, local media reported Monday.
Zindzi Mandela’s passing was confirmed by the family on Monday morning, with initial reports indicating that the ambassador to Denmark had died on Sunday night at a Johannesburg hospital.
Mandela, who was born to Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela on 23 December 1960 in Soweto, stood in as the First Lady of South Africa until her father remarried in 1998. In 2014, Zindziswa Mandela was appointed as the ambassador to Denmark.
The daughter of the ‘father of the nation’ made headlines in 2019 following a contentious outburst on Twitter. Zindzi Mandela, who favored the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) as a political force, while still remaining ‘loyal and dedicated’ to her father’s ruling African National Congress (ANC), took aim at “thieving rapist descendants of [Jan] Van Riebeeck”, saying:
“Dear Apartheid Apologists, your time is over. You will not rule again. We do not fear you. Finally #TheLandIsOurs.”
Zindzi’s father died on 5 December 2013. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela passed away almost five years later, on 2 April 2018.
Zindzi Mandela leaves behind four children and husband Molapo Motlhajwa.
thesouthafrican