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eventREF E-0012243Revised

Event record

Winnie Mandela speaks out against Terrorism Act

Date
5 Oct 1975
Updated
30 Sep 2019
Winnie Mandela speaks out against Terrorism Act

Winnie Mandela, wife of the then imprisoned African National Congress leader, Nelson Mandela ends her thirteen years of enforced silence with a strong attack on the country's Terrorism Act. Mandela was twice detained under section 6 of the notorious Terrorism Act, which permitted 90 days imprisonment without trial. She was repeatedly placed under solitary confinement in the Pretoria Central Prison and allowed only one visitor at time. The only thing that kept her going was the Mandela name and her two young daughters, who were a constant reminder of survival. Mandela criticised the Act as Afrikaners's cowardly manner of trying to suppress those that speak against the horrendous deeds of the government.

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How we know this

  1. 01South African History Online, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, [online], Available at www.sahistory.org.za [Accessed: 4 October 2013]
  2. 02News24 (2013),'Winnie Mandela releases prison journal', 9 August, [online], Available at www.news24.com [Accessed: 4 October 2013]
  3. 03Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory (2013), '491Days: Prisoner Number 1323/69 - Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's book now on shelves,, 10 August, [online], Available at www.nelsonmandela.org [Accessed: 4 October 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Winnie Mandela speaks out against Terrorism Act. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012243

South African History Online (2011) 'Winnie Mandela speaks out against Terrorism Act', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012243 (Accessed: 6 August 2026).

South African History Online, Winnie Mandela speaks out against Terrorism Act [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012243, (accessed 6 August 2026).

"Winnie Mandela speaks out against Terrorism Act." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012243. Accessed 6 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "Winnie Mandela speaks out against Terrorism Act." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012243.

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