TRC Final Report

Volume 2

Chapter 6

Part Part6

Subsection 1

Volume TWO Chapter SIX

Special Investigation into the Mandela United Football Club

■ INTRODUCTION

1 In 1986, following her return to Soweto after several years of banishment to the magisterial district of Brandfort in the Orange Free State, Ms Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was instrumental in providing refuge and material assistance to disaffected youth from Soweto and other communities.

2 During this period she also acted as an operative for the African National Congress (ANC) military wing, Umkhonto weSizwe (MK), and provided assistance to MK cadres infiltrating the country from neighbouring states. In late 1986 she was instrumental in the resolution of an internal conflict within the Orlando West branch of the Soweto Youth Congress (SOYCO), which resulted in the formation of the Mandela United Football Club (MUFC). A number of the youths involved in this conflict moved into the outbuildings of the Mandela home in the Orlando West section of Soweto.

3 Allegations against the youths living at and associated with the Mandela home first surfaced during 1987. Tension developed between the youths and other elements in the community and, at the end of July 1988, the Mandela home was burnt down. Community and religious leaders formed the Mandela Crisis Committee, a group which attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to resolve the conflicts that led to the burning of the Mandela household.

4 After July 1988, Ms Madikizela-Mandela and a number of MUFC youths moved into new premises in Diepkloof Extension. The behaviour of these youths, frequently described by community residents as a "reign of terror", continued throughout the next seven months. In a February 1989 statement, the Mass Democratic Movement (MDM) stated:

In recent years, Mrs Mandela’s actions have increasingly led her into conflict with the various sections of the oppressed people and with the Mass Democratic Movement as a whole. The recent conflict in the community has centred largely around the conduct of her so-called football club, which has been widely condemned by the community. In particular, we are outraged by the reign of terror that the team have been associated with. Not only is Mrs Mandela associated with the team, in fact, the team is her own creation.

5 Between August 1988 and the end of February 1989, the residents and associates of the Mandela household, including Ms Madikizela-Mandela herself, were implicated directly or indirectly in a range of incidents – including assaults and abduction, and the murder and attempted murder of at least a dozen individuals. The crisis peaked with the abduction of four youths from the Methodist manse in Orlando West and the murder of Stompie Seipei in late December 1988 and early January 1989.

6 An angry and agitated Soweto community attempted to sanction the activities of Ms Madikizela-Mandela and her football club through the offices of the Mandela Crisis Committee and other religious and community leaders. Madikizela-Mandela disparaged their cumulative efforts and did not heed their advice. This intransigence prompted even more drastic action, culminating in unprecedented public criticism of Madikizela-Mandela by the leadership of the MDM and the ANC in February 1989.

7 The ANC released the following press statement on 16 February 1989:

It is with a feeling of terrible sadness that we consider to express our reservations about Winnie Mandela’s judgement in relation to the Mandela football Club.

8 This chapter examines a series of allegations against Madikizela-Mandela, the MUFC and other associates of her household, relating to cases reported to and investigated by the Commission. The cases examined occurred after her return from Brandfort to Soweto in 1986 up until her trial for kidnapping and assault in 1991. The Investigation Unit did not focus on all cases, but concentrated on the seven-month period from the end of July 1988 to the end of February 1989.

9 This chapter includes findings made by the Commission regarding Ms Madikizela-Mandela, the MUFC, and other individuals, as well as overall findings regarding the role of community structures, the ANC and the South African Police (SAP). These findings pertain to specific cases as well as to general themes that arose during the overall inquiry.

10 It should be noted that there was considerable disagreement as to what and who constituted the MUFC.

11 A more detailed and comprehensive examination of the cases and issues raised in this summary was submitted to the Commission by the Johannesburg Investigation Unit. This report also contains a set of recommendations pertaining to each case brought before the Commission.