Mama Winnie docuseries sparks serious online debate

by Chumasande Matiwane
The former wife of the late South African President Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid campaigner Winnie Mandela waves as she attends the 54th ANC National Conference at the NASREC Expo Centre in Johannesburg on December 16, 2017. Thousands of delegates from South Africa's ANC party gathered on December 16, 2017 for a five-day meeting to elect their new leader in a divisive race seen as a pivotal moment in the country's post-apartheid history. he winner will be well placed to be the next president, but the ANC has lost much popularity since Nelson Mandela led it to power in the euphoric 1994 election that marked the end of white-minority rule. / AFP PHOTO / MUJAHID SAFODIEN (Photo credit should read MUJAHID SAFODIEN/AFP via Getty Images)

The Trials of Winnie Mandela, the revolutionary new Netflix documentary, has opened up debates on social media about South Africa’s storied and painful past.

The seven-episode series, which chronicles the life and times of Winnie Mandela, an activist and the former first lady of the nation when she was married to Nelson Mandela, is directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Mandy Jacobson.

The Netflix docuseries officially aired Thursday, the 23rd of April. Since then, the country has been debating about it.

One X user tweeted, “ To some degree, I want to believe that the documentary by Pascale Lamche was far more intriguing than this Netflix documentary. That Pascale doccie revealed that there was a Stratcom propaganda machinery that was formed by the apartheid regime to vilify and discredit Mama Winnie.”

Also see: South Africa remembers Mama Winnie Madikizela-Mandela

In the docuseries, there is a scene where Mama Winnie admits that she constantly defied the apartheid regime to keep the fight against oppression going, to help secure the former statesman’s release and to get the attention of the international media – one thing she’s proud of in her struggle for a free life.

“She had magnetism. I would just say she was the influencer of influencers.” – Professor Thuli Madonsela on Winnie Mandela.

Also see: Zoleka Mandela remembers Winnie Madikizela-Mandela

The debate brought in activists sharing their thoughts about the docuseries, with another X user tweeting, “Just finished the Trials of Winnie documentary….Goodness, I am so confused and disappointed! Why did the granddaughters project lead and agree to this distortion of what Mam Winnie was and stood for? Not even an attempt to demystify the Stracom nonsense that tried to discredit our leader and struggle icon! What a waste of my time watching repeated propaganda and nauseating narrative that for years has been used desperately to project Winnie Madikizela as a villain. Even in death, these Apartheid collaborators and apologists masquerading as journalists would still not let her fighting spirit rest in peace. Mondli Makhanya and Palesa Morudu must truly be ashamed of themselves. Cde Winnie Zanyiwe Madikizela was the only ANC leader who remained in the country and confronted head-on the brutal racist regime of apartheid. Fought Side by side with the masses of her country and carried the entire nation on her shoulders. They can never tell us about her for we knew her better and we will tell our own stories of mam Winnie.”

Also see: Netflix docuseries on Winnie Mandela shares essence of her iconic impact

Feature Image: Gettys

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