Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has died, and South Africa is divided over how she should be remembered. As the nation mourns and debates whether she was saint or sinner, the story returns to 1952, when a young Winnie leaves her rural home for Johannesburg and meets Nelson Mandela, a rising leader of the anti-apartheid movement. Their marriage places her at the centre of the struggle - and in the sights of the apartheid security police. When Nelson is sentenced to life in prison, Winnie becomes both symbol and target, enduring years of detention, torture and bannings from the notorious apartheid security police. Hardening under the relentless siege and becoming increasingly uncompromising, she declares she is prepared to kill for her ideals. At their table decades later, her granddaughters, Swati and Zaziwe, begin where history leaves off: how did the first black medical social worker become a woman the world would one day fear and revere in equal measure?
Banished to Brandfort, Winnie used her newfound fearlessness to push the boundaries of the law — in spite of being targeted by local police.
Winnie's granddaughters remember a life shaped by fear, and how the Mandela United Football Club came under scrutiny after a young activist's death.
After Nelson Mandela's release, his relationship with Winnie falters as their starkly different political approaches pull them further apart.
In early 1996, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission started a three-year investigation, seeking amnesty for those accused of political crimes.
Winnie reflects on her upbringing and how her grandmother's beliefs shaped her self-image, politics and readiness to embrace the struggle.
A look back at a life lived in anger and fear, and how Winnie Mandela's legacy and death shook a nation long after her years on the front line.
