The Trials of Winnie Mandela — Season 1, Episode 1: Chapter 1: MRS MANDELA - The Wife of Nelson Mandela (1936 – 1976)

Episode synopsis

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has died, and South Africa is divided over how she should be remembered. As the nation mourns and debates whether she was saint or sinner, the story returns to 1952, when a young Winnie leaves her rural home for Johannesburg and meets Nelson Mandela, a rising leader of the anti-apartheid movement. Their marriage places her at the centre of the struggle – and in the sights of the apartheid security police. When Nelson is sentenced to life in prison, Winnie becomes both symbol and target, enduring years of detention, torture and bannings from the notorious apartheid security police. Hardening under the relentless siege and becoming increasingly uncompromising, she declares she is prepared to kill for her ideals. At their table decades later, her granddaughters, Swati and Zaziwe, begin where history leaves off: how did the first black medical social worker become a woman the world would one day fear and revere in equal measure?

About The Trials of Winnie Mandela

Directed by the late, two-time Emmy Award®-winning documentary filmmaker Mandy Jacobson, the series unfolds from the perspective of Madikizela-Mandela’s granddaughters, HRH Princess Zaziwe Manaway (née Dlamini) and HRH Princess Swati Mandela-Dlamini, who is also credited as a producer, as they set out to find the essence of their iconic grandmother, affectionately known to them as ‘Big Mommy’. Through their journey, the story pieces together a portrait shaped by personal accounts, family memory, and public record.

More episodes from Season 1

• E2Chapter 2: ZANYIWE - To Be Tested (1977-1988)
• E3Chapter 3: WINNIE - Fair and Pure (1988 – 1989)
• E4Chapter 4: NOBANDLA – She Who Is of the People (1990 – 1996)
• E5Chapter 5: WINIFRED - Friend of Peace (1996 – 1997)
• E6Chapter 6: NOMZAMO - Mother of Endeavour (1998 – 2013)
• E7Chapter 7: WINIFRED NOMZAMO ZANYIWE MANDELA MADIKIZELA (2013 – 2018)