Zoleka Mandela, the granddaughter of Nelson Mandela, the first democratically elected president of South Africa, passed away at the age of 43 from cancer.
Years ago, Winnie Mandela, her mother, passed away from metastatic cancer.
In a statement on Instagram, a spokesperson for the family said that Zoleka passed away on Monday in the presence of friends and family.
Writings by Zoleka included accounts of her addictions, the passing of her daughter, and her own struggles with breast cancer. She is the daughter of Zindzi Mandela’s first spouse, Zwelibanzi Hlongwane, and was born in 1980. The Mandelas, who are the chieftains of Mvezo, her mother’s ancestral chiefdom, are the direct heirs of Thembu King Madiba.
Zoleka has discussed experiencing sexual abuse as a child. She once struggled with drug and alcohol addiction.
Zenani Mandela, Zoleka Mandela’s 13-year-old daughter, died in a car accident in 2010 while returning from a performance. Drug use was allegedly to blame for the incident, which occurred while Zoleka Mandela was getting well after attempting suicide. In 2013, Mandela released her autobiography. On September 25, 2023, she passed away after a protracted fight with cancer.
Breast cancer was first detected in Zoleka Mandela in 2011, and it reappeared in 2016. She has discussed the removed tumor and the negative effects of her chemotherapy treatment on social media.
She was selected as one of the BBC’s “100 Women” in 2016. She stated that her greatest regret was that she believed she had accomplished significant deeds only after the passing of her grandfather, not while he was still living.
She raised awareness of the risks facing children in sub-Saharan Africa, who are twice as likely to die in auto accidents as children everywhere else in the world, as she advocated against deaths due to traffic accidents.
