Is Nelson Mandela perhaps more disengaged from contemporary South African politics than most of us realize? Madiba is 91 years old, and so obviously is enjoying his sunset years. But if Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is to be believed (I know, I know — consider the source) Mandela is pretty disconnected from the current state of the African National Congress (ANC).
In a recent interview with Independent Newspapers, Madikizela-Mandela argued that Madiba would be devastated by divisions within the ANC’s Tripartite Alliance:
“I think God has been kind to Madiba for him not to know very much about what is going on” within the party, Madikizela-Mandela said. “His children are sort of keeping him away from it all because I think that is what would quicken our journey to eternity.”
Madikizela-Mandela certainly has her own angles to play. But that does not mean that of necessity she is wrong. And going beyond the invocation of Madiba (which is almost always self-serving — how else to validate one’s own position than to lay a claim to it as something Mandela would embrace?) there is something to what Madikizela-Mandela says. She may be unsavory and nakedly self interested, but when it comes to politics, Madikizela-Mandela is also exceptionally savvy.