Ralegae “Coostah” Kitsa, from the Mkhonto we Sizwe’s Veteran League (Mkmva), revealed that Kentucky Fried Chicken and champagne were among the late struggle icon, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s favorite food items. Speaking to a crowd of hundreds of ANC supporters in Brandfort on Monday afternoon, Kitsa said one day he had to warn Madikizela-Mandela to stop buying so much of these two consumables as he feared her enemies would frame him by putting poison in the two favorite food items. “I then made an agreement with her that from now on, I would go to the shops to buy her the foods she loved as this was a safer option.”
Kitsa also recalled Madikizela-Mandela’s devotion to helping those who were referred from Brandfort to Bloemfontein for medical care. “She would use her influence to get those people treated by referring them to a doctor we used to call Dr Stofile. Once the patients arrived in Bloemfontein, Winnie would call Stofile and find out if he received them and if they are doing well. She was a fighter with a good heart,” Kitsa said.
In his closing remarks, Kitsa made an appeal to the Brandfort community asking that Madikizela-Mandela’s legacy be kept alive through the spirit of Ubuntu, community service and fighting for the rights of the underdog. Kitsa was one of several speakers at the memorial who took to the podium to share their memories of Madikizela-Mandela. The Free State Provincial Government as well as the ANC held a memorial lecture service for the late Madikizela-Mandela. She died last week Monday in Johannesburg. She was 81 years old.
PULANE CHOANE
