This archive report was first published on 17 July 2020.
On July 13, 2020, Zindzi Mandela, the lastborn daughter of Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, passed away in a Johannesburg hospital. She was 59 years old.
Her son, Zondwa Mandela, confirmed in an interview that his mother had tested positive for Covid-19 shortly before her death. However, the family is waiting for the autopsy report to determine the cause of her death.
"My mother did indeed test positive for Covid-19 on the day of her passing, although this doesn't mean that she died of Covid-19 related complications, but simply that she tested positive for it," Zondwa Mandela said.
Born on December 23, 1960, Zindzi Mandela first gained international prominence in 1985 when she made a powerful address in Soweto, reading her father's rejection letter of an offer for conditional release from prison by then-South African President PW Botha.
As a prominent figure in South Africa's post-apartheid democracy, Zindzi Mandela served as the country's stand-in First Lady from 1996 to 1998 and was currently serving as the ambassador to Denmark at the time of her death.
