Search the Community

Evelyn Ntoko Mase Rakeepile BIRTH 18 May 1922 South Africa DEATH 30 Apr 2004 First wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela. They had 4 children together; Madiba Thembekile Mandela, Makaziwe Mandela, Makgatho Lewanika Mandela and Pumla Makaziwe Mandela-Amuah. Evelyn later divorced Nelson Mandela in 1955 and married Simon Rakeepile, a retired businessman. Simon Moloka Rakeepile BIRTH 4 Mar 1930 South Africa DEATH 19 Apr 2012 Married to Evelyn Ntoko (Mase), first wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela. Simon was a retired businessman and lived a fruitful life of spiritual dedication. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela BIRTH 18 Jul 1918  South Africa DEATH 5 Dec 2013 Nelson Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the first black South African to hold the office, and the first elected in a fully representative election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutionalised racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation. Politically an African nationalist and democratic socialist, he served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997. Internationally, Mandela was Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1998 to 1999. Madiba Thembekile “Thembi” Mandela BIRTH 23 Feb 1945 South Africa DEATH 13 Jul 1969 South Africa Oldest child of Nelson Mandela and his first wife Evelyn Ntoko Mase. Brother of Makgatho Lewanika Mandela, Makaziwe Mandela and Pumla Makaziwe Mandela-Amuah. Madiba was often referred to as "Styles Mandela" because of the fashionable way he dressed. (Add a Photo)Makaziwe Mandela BIRTH 1947 South Africa DEATH 1948 South Africa Second child born to Nelson Mandela and his first wife Evelyn Ntoko Mase. She only lived to be 9 months old. Sister of Madiba Thembekile Mandela, Makgatho Lewanika Mandela and Pumla Makaziwe Mandela-Amuah (the latter whom was given Makaziwe's name upon her birth in 1954). Makgatho Lewanika Mandela BIRTH 26 Jun 1950 South Africa DEATH 6 Jan 2005 Third child born to Nelson Mandela and his first wife Evelyn Ntoko Mase. Brother of Madiba Thembekile Mandela, Makaziwe Mandela and Pumla Makaziwe Mandela-Amuah. Father of Mandla, Ndaba, Mbuso and Andile. Phothos of their daughters Evelyn Ntoko Mase Rakeepile NELSON MANDELA HEARS THE TRUTH AT HIS SISTER'S FUNERAL Sister Piliso, the youngest sister of Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa, was a witness for twenty years source Â

Como cada 18 de julio desde 2010, hoy se celebra el Día Internacional de Nelson Mandela, en conmemoración del día del nacimimento del que fue presidente de Sudáfrica de 1994 a 1999, el primer político de raza negra que llegó al Ejecutivo de su país y el principal activista en la lucha contra el apartheid en la nación africana. Todos conocemos la labor por la paz y la cooperación del premio Nobel, pero hoy queremos recordar la figura de Evelyn Mase, la enfermera sudafricana que fue su esposa desde 1944 hasta 1957. Evelyn Ntoko Mase nació en la ciudad de Engcobo el 18 de mayo de 1922, y falleció el 30 de abril de 2004. Cuando contaba 17 años, se trasladó a Johannesburgo, la urbe más importante de Sudáfrica, para ejercer como enfermera en el Hospital de Hillbrow. Su vida con Mandela Nelson Mandela y Evelyn Mase se casaron en 1944, con 26 y 22 años respectivamente. El futuro presidente sudafricano llegó a Johannesburgo para completar sus estudios de Derecho, y allí conoció, a través de uno de sus grandes amigos y quien lo inició en la política introduciéndolo en las bases del partido Congreso Nacional Africano, Walter Sisulu, a su vez, primo de Mase, a la que sería su primera esposa. Durante su matrimonio, del que resultaron cuatro hijos, Mandela fue elegido presidente de las secciones jóvenes de dicha agrupación política y se transformó en una figura clave en la lucha contra el racismo y el apartheid en Sudáfrica, y las manifestaciones y actos públicos empezaron a copar gran parte de su vida. Evelyn Mase era una mujer de profundas convicciones religiosas y una miembro activa de los testigos de Jehová, una creencia que la obligaba a mantenerse apartada de iniciativas políticas, lo que empezó a deteriorar su relación. El mismo Mandela lo relata en su libro autobiográfico, titulado El largo camino hacia la libertad, publicado en 1994, según lo recoge el portal web Casa África, de la siguiente forma: «Fue un conflicto irreconciliable entre la política y la religión. Yo no podía renunciar a mi lucha y ella no podía vivir con mi devoción a algo distinto de ella y su familia. Nunca perdí mi admiración por ella, pero al final no pudimos mantener nuestro matrimonio». En 1955, Mandela y Mase se separaron, y dos años después, se divorciaron, pero volvió al panorama internacional en 1990, cuando el líder de la lucha contra el racismo en el país africano fue liberado después de pasar 27 años en prisión. En 1998, 41 años después, esta enfermera volvió a contraer nupcias en la ciudad de Soweto, cercana a Johannesburgo, en la que desarrolló diversas actividades dedicadas a la beneficencia, y hoy, como se ha dicho, Día Internacional de Nelson Mandela, desde el Diario DICEN hemos querido recordar su figura. https://www.diariodicen.es/201707/evelyn-mase-enfermera-y-primera-esposa-de-nelson-mandela/

Nelson Mandela and Evelyn Mase (then his girlfriend) are seen here at the wedding of Walter and Albertina Sisulu in April of 1944. Mandela was best man; Evelyn (who was Sisulu's first cousin) was a bridesmaid. On July 15, 1944, Evelyn and Nelson were also married. Evelyn was the family's financial supporter, initially, while Nelson studied law at the University of the Witwatersrand. At the same time, Mandela began to devote more and more time to politics. Their differences in beliefs, and his growing dedication to politics, eventually caused the couple to divorce after thirteen years and four children. (One child, a daughter, died at nine months old.) Thereafter, Evelyn raised their children, alone, and supported them with the proceeds from her grocery store. Evelyn died, of lung and respiratory problems, in May of 2004. A South African newspaper (the Independent OnLine) published the following article, at her death: source Audio Narration - Mandela and First Wife - Evelyn Mase Thembekile (known as Thembi) was Mandela's older son (with his first wife, Evelyn) and his third-born child. Because of his long working hours, Mandela did not spend much time with the boy and his siblings. He tells us how Thembi responded to that situation: After his parents divorced, Thembi was upset. Mandela tells us: While Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island, Thembi was killed in a car accident. His father was not allowed to attend the funeral of his twenty-five-year-old son. Not long before Thembi died, Mandela had also lost his Mother. The anguished prisoner wrote the following words to a friend: source Mandelas first wife Evelyn Mandela, Nelson Mandela's first wife, at her home in Cofimvaba, South Africa. Evelyn had four children by Mr Mandela.April 01, 1994 Makaziwe Mandela, the only daughter of Rakeepile (Evelyn Mase) and Mandela Evelyn Rakeepile Evelyn Mase