The sum of 83,000 rand or about $6,000 in cash has been stolen from the home of south African anti-apartheid icon Winnie Mandela.
The website, News24 reports that Winnie Mandela lodged a case of theft with the police after discovering that her R83,000 birthday celebration cash gift had gone missing on Thursday.
The website reports that Winnie Mandela only discovered the money was missing when she took her bag out of her wardrobe at her home to get some money to purchase bread. The 80-year-old had allegedly received money amounting to R83 000 as a birthday gift. And she had planned to deposit the money at a bank soon.
A spokesperson for the Johannesburg police, Lieutenant Colonel Kay Makhubela announced this while speaking to newsmen in Johannesburg saying: “We’re investigating a case of theft of cash whereby the money was stolen in a house from Orlando West. So far no suspects have been arrested and we’re continuing with our investigation”. Colonel Makhubela however did not provide further details about the ongoing police investigation.
This is however, not the first reported case of a burglary at Winnie Mandela’s home. In 2007, the former African Congress Women’s League president returned from her trip to the US to discover that thieves had made away with jewelry worth about R4 million from her Orlando west residence.
Winnie Mandela turned 80 on Monday, September 26, and hundreds of South Africans turned out for the birthday celebration of one of the icons of the apartheid struggle. A 4,500 seater capacity marquee was erected at the Orlando west gardens with many of her admirers, most of them women who showed up at the event bearing gifts for “Mama Winnie” or “the mother of the nation” as she is fondly called.
At an after party at the emperor’s palace on Monday night, guests were treated to a buffet of gravy and chicken topped off with cool drinks while listening to live music provided by top musicians like Sechaba and Lundi.
