Our mother in the background on the left with Comrade Nelson Mandela’s mother sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s protesting the arrest of political prisoners

President Nelson Mandela’s letter of condolence to our father when our mother passed away after a lengthy and painful battle with Motor-neurone disease  (ALS) on 3rd April 2008



My elder sister Tasneem Nobandla Moolla’s Tribute to our Mother.


note: our father, Mosie Moolla and future President Nelson Mandela were both comrades in the struggle against Apartheid as well as friends. Comrade Nelson Mandela was to be our father’s best-man at the wedding of our parents, but Comrade Mandela was in jail on a separate charge.

The were, however, in jail together in 1962 when news came that our mother had given birth to my eldest sister.

Our father asked his comrade Nelson Mandela to give my sister a name which he promptly did – ‘Nobandla’, an isiXhosa name which means “she who is of the masses”.

Our mother who was arrested in May 1963, when my sister was just 7 months old


The following is my sister’s memories and tribute to our mother as the old painful memories are revisiting us all as we are in mourning for the mother of our nation, Comrade Winnie Mandela.




April 3rd marked 10 years since my beautiful mum Zubeida Moolla passed on.


She spent 27 years in exile with my dad Mosie Moolla, who was a combatant in the armed-wing of the AfricanNational Congress  (ANC) and who escaped from the Marshall Square jail in central Johannesburg along with 3 other comrades. There was a bounty of £2000 on our father and his 3 fellow-escapees. Our father and the three conrades were spirited out of South Africa where our father joined the armed-wing of the ANC and who for 27 years spent time in exile with our mother, while representation the ANC as it’s Chief-Representative in India, Egypt, and as ANC Secretary to the World Peace Council  (WPC) in Helsinki, Finland.


Those were extremely difficult days for her as she had to leave her family and myself and my brother Azad, to continue the fight for the liberation of our people, by galvanising international efforts in the isolation and international struggle against Apartheid by raising awareness about the evils of Apartheid in the broader international community.


Our mother Zubeida Moolla delivering a speech at an anti-Apartheid meeting whilst in exile in India


She sacrificed all those years mostly alone in strange countries but her resolve never wavered and she stood firm and brave until we won our freedom.


Both my parents were close comrades of Ma Winnie and Tata Madiba.


She welcomed Madiba and Ma Winnie when they visited Sweden and it was a great reunion for them, after 27 years of separation.


My mum was a fighter till the bitter end when Motor Neurone disease (ALS) took her away from us too soon.


She made many sacrifices for our cause, she was jailed and tortured while 10 months pregnant with my brother Azad, while alson being threatened by the then Apartheid police to be thrown off “John Vorster Sqaure” (Apartheid police headquarters in central Johannesburg) after my father’s escape, but she still stood tall and never betrayed her beloved ANC.


The flag of the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa


To all those who paid the ultimate price for freedom I salute you!


Hamba Kahle Ma Winnie!


Your struggle and fight will always remain in our hearts.


I am proud to share a name with you “NOBANDLA”.


This name was given to me by the late great Tata Madiba Nelson Mandela, and means “she who is of the masses”.


Long live the struggle against racism and injustice and oppression and misogyny anywhere in the world!


The Struggle Continues! 


Viva ANC Viva!


Viva the memories of our giants – Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Nana Sita, Yusuf Dadoo, Chief Albert Luthuli, Braam Fischer, Joe Slovo, Chris Hani, Steve Biko, Robert Sobukwe, Govan Mbeki, Ahmed Kathrada, Andrew Mlangeni, Elias Motsoaledi, Denis Goldberg, Raymond Mhlaba and the many countless South Africans who made the ultimate sacrifice for a free and democratic nation.


Matla ke a Rona – Victory is certain ✊


Umkhonto-We-Sizwe – The Spear of the Nation: The armed-wing of the African National Congress (ANC) during the struggle against Apartheid racial discrimination and oppression


the Emblem of Umkhonto-We-Sizwe, the armed-wing of the African National Congress (ANC) during the struggle against Apartheid brutality and racism, in the pursuit of freedom and democracy.


revolutionary poster at the height of Apartheid in South Africa