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

Madikizela-Mandela passed away at the Netcare Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg on Monday.

Mandela family spokesman‚ Victor Dlamini‚ said: “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

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.

Winnie Madikizela Mandela Ex-wife of the late leader of South Africa Nelson Mandela

SOURCE- TIMESLIVE SOUTH AFRICA

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World champion Anthony Joshua won the first heavyweight unification bout held on British soil as he gained a unanimous points verdict against Joseph Parker at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.

British star Joshua added the WBO belt to the WBA and IBF belts he already holds, but he was taken the distance for the first time in his professional career.

It was his 21st straight career victory, although previously unbeaten New Zealander Parker delivered a battling display without seriously troubling Joshua.

Talk will now further intensify of Joshua fighting unbeaten American and current WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder for all four belts.

Joshua, almost a stone lighter than when he beat Carlos Takam in Cardiff last October, did enough without setting the fight alight, while Parker had his moments, even if an upset victory never looked on.