Nelson Mandela lost 2 children Zindzi and Thembekile on the same day
Following the death of Zindzi Mandela, the youngest daughter of the late President Nelson Mandela and the late Nomzamo Winnie Madikizela, the Mandela family lost a son exactly 51 years ago on the same day.
Zindzi passed away at a Johannesburg hospital in the early hours of this morning.
In July 1969 Madiba Thembekile (Thembi), Nelson Mandela’s eldest son died in a car accident
Thembi Mandela was killed in a car accident on 13 July 1969 while his father was in prison on Robben Island. A devastated Mr Mandela was filled with anguish at not being allowed to attend his funeral or to have access to details about the crash.
A recent search, with the assistance of Sipho Rala at the South African Library in Cape Town, unearthed a front-page report in the Cape Argus about the accident. Mr Mandela was only informed of his son’s death by telegram the day after the newspaper appeared.