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Winnie Mandela: Thousands of mourners celebrate the life of anti-Apartheid activist

South Africans dance and sing as they flood a football stadium to thank the "mother of the nation" for their "freedom".

Thousands of people flooded a football stadium for the vibrant ceremony
Image: Thousands of people flooded a football stadium for the vibrant ceremony
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Thousands of South Africans poured into a football stadium in the South African town of Soweto to celebrate the life of the anti-Apartheid hero Winnie Mandela.

Sky News correspondent David Bowden gives his account from Soweto, where he witnessed the celebrations and grief:

The singing and dancing began long before the memorial service itself.

Hundreds of people arrived at the Orlando Stadium early to mourn Winnie Mandela's death, but more importantly to celebrate the life of a woman they revered as the mother of their nation.

One young woman who was named after Mandela flew in from the Eastern Cape just to be there.

Her parents had to flee South Africa during the anti-Apartheid struggle.

Mandela was regarded as the 'Mother of the Nation' by many South Africans
Image: Mandela was regarded as the 'mother of the nation' by many South Africans
Mourners were seen executing some unconventional dance moves at the event
Image: Mourners were seen executing some unconventional dance moves at the ceremony

Others had less far to travel, with many of the thousands who turned up living in Soweto, the same township where Mandela herself had lived.

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At her house there is a book of condolences with page after page of memories, and a bank of flowers in tribute to the 81-year-old political activist who died on 2 April.

Her grandson Bambatha Mandela explained why she never left Soweto to live in the plusher suburbs of Johannesburg, where he and other family and friends now have their homes.

She told him she wouldn't be able to sleep and even if she did, she didn't want to wake up next door to her enemies.

Mandela was referencing the white residents of those neighbourhoods who she still considered the opposition.

Mandela is pictured with her husband after his release from prison
Image: Mandela is pictured with her husband after his release from prison

The memorial heard from those who were in jail with Nelson Mandela's ex-wife, saluting the life of a freedom fighter and mother.

But Mandela was also a convicted kidnapper and fraudster.

Some still believe she was complicit in the murder of Stompie Moeketsi, a 14-year-old boy found dead close to her home in Soweto at the height of the anti-Apartheid struggle.

She always denied the allegation.

Winnie Mandela at a ceremony to mark a national day of prayer for Nelson Mandela in 2013
Image: Winnie Mandela attended a ceremony to mark a national day of prayer for Nelson Mandela in 2013

For all the political hero worship it was the youngest generation of the Mandela family that stole the memorial show, as one by one Mandela's great grandchildren told the thousands in the stands how much they loved the old lady and that she was "the best".

Their words prompted cheers and loud applause.

Winnie Mandela's funeral will be held in the same football stadium on Saturday, with more singing, more dancing and more eulogies for a woman who unarguably helped change South Africa.