491 Days: Prisoner Number 1323/69

by Winnie Madikizela-Mandela

On a freezing winter’s night, a few hours before dawn on 12 May 1969, security police stormed the Soweto home of Winnie Mandela and detained her in the presence of her two young daughters, then aged nine and ten.

Rounded up in a group of other anti-apartheid activists under Section 6 of the Terrorism Act, designed for the security police to hold and interrogate people for as long as they wanted, she was taken away. She had no idea where they were taking her or what would happen to her children. For Winnie Mandela this was the start of a 491-day period of detention and two trials.

Forty-one years after Winnie’s release on 14 September 1970, Greta Soggot, the widow of David Soggot, one of Winnie Mandela’s advocates during the 1969–70 trials, handed her a stack of papers that included a journal and notes that she had written in detention. Their arrival brought back vivid and horrifying memories and uncovered a unique and personal slice of South Africa’s history.

491 Days: Prisoner Number 1323/69 shares with the world Winnie Mandela’s moving and compelling journal as well as some of the letters written between affected parties at the time, including Winnie and Nelson Mandela, who by then had been in prison for nearly seven years.

Readers gain insight into the brutality she experienced, her depths of despair as well as her resilience and defiance under extreme pressure. This young wife and mother emerged after 491 days in detention unbowed and determined to continue the struggle for freedom.

Genres: South Africa, Nonfiction, Biography, Africa, History, Memoir

264 pages, Trade Paperback

First published August 9, 2013

Reviews

[ConnorD · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not the best book I have read but it is an important read. Why? Because the role of women in political liberation of SA is not highlighted as much as that of men. Also because Winnie Mandela role in keeping the flames burning while her husband spent 3 decades in prison is not acknowledged. I saw clips the other day about her defiance and how speeches she and her daughter made really kept the husband/father name alive while he was in prison.

I would however prefer a heart-to-heart memoir that Winnie Mandela writes about her life and how she became who she is, her joys, pains, disappointments, about choices she had to make and about her life in post apartheid SA. I hope this book comes soon - I will be the first to buy it.

I will rate the book 4 because of these reasons - but it really deserves a 3.5

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

i actually feel like crying, but i don't want to start, as i'm scared i won't be able to stop. this book has touched me so deeply.

i simply don't have the right words - all i can say now is that we are not allowed to judge - we can't dare to judge - if we haven't been in somebody's shoes ...

[Monene Moila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will admit upfront that I am deeply biased when it comes to Winnie Mandela. Any literature that attempts to tell her story already has my openness and my loyalty. Prisoner 491 is powerful in that it offers a stark, literal account of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s imprisonment. The isolation, the brutality, the psychological warfare of solitary confinement. On a factual level, it is harrowing. The narrative documents what happened, but often leaves little room for the spirit and the fire of the woman herself to breathe.

So, I actually found myself preferring the book “The Resurrection of Winnie Mandela”, precisely because it honours Winnie in her full complexity. Sisonke Msimang allows Winnie to exist as more than a political symbol or a struggle artefact. She is rendered as a whole, contradictory, beautiful, wounded, brave, formidable and wonderful woman. Prisoner 491, by contrast situates Winnie firmly within the broader liberation narrative, at times diluting her singular story by placing it alongside other struggle heroes, when her life alone carries more than enough weight.

Look, Prisoner 491 remains important. It bears witness to the cruelty of the apartheid state and the unimaginable cost of resistance. But for me, Winnie is not only a prisoner, not only a comrade, not only a woman who endured. She is a force. And I long for books that hold her with the reverence, rage, tenderness and depth that her life deserves.

Maybe an unfair comparison but this context for me, informs my rating.

[Puleng Hopper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heart wrenching true story, related through personal journals, notes and letters that had been kept in custody by Winnie Madikizela's advocate and were handed over to her in 2011.

In 1969. A young wife, mother and freedom fighter, who was prone to be harassed and detained by the National Party government is arrested under Section 6 of The Terrorism Act 1967. This, at a challenging time when her husband had been in prison for about seven years. Her young daughters, eight and ten years old at the time, are therefore rendered vulnerable and parent less. Their house is left exposed and unattended. The situation gets exercebated by the passing of her step son and mother law while she is in custody.

Despite her mental and physical ailments, characterized by anemia, stomach cramps, vomiting, irregular menstrual periods, mainly overflow, black outs, hyperventilation, depression, and cardiac failure, she is kept in solidarity confinement for 491 days. Confinement that Winnie, in the book, page 235 describes as follows:
"Solitary confinement was designed to kill you so slowly that you were long dead before you died. By the time you died, you were nobody. You had no soul anymore, and a body without a soul is a corpse anyway"

The then National Party government can indeed be afforded accolades for brutality, irrationality and inhumaness.

The book graphically depicts the gorry picture of a violation of basic human rights, atrocities, murder , and evil that was meted out to all political prisoners of the time, if not worse. Through her steadfastness, resilience and mental strength Winnie Madikizela , survived and lived to relate her traumatic experience.

Published only five years ago after receiving her journals at age 75, it was significant that this part of Winnie Madikizela's story be documented and publicized, however, Winnie has a rich, full, independent and relevant life story, that I hope can be related holistically and in totality. A good book, although towards the end it sounded a lot like the many Madiba books, more of Tata's
letters were featured as opposed to hers. Almost, in my opinion, clouding, hijacking Winnie 's herstory.

[Muthoni Muiruri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating 2/5 Stars.

This book was a disappointment. I am not even sure I can call it a book – more like disjointed collection of notes, journal entries and letters . I was disappointed because my expectations going into it – to learn about the fierce, resilient, strong woman that was Winnie Mandela – were not met. Didn’t even come close!

The book begins with the arrest of Winnie on 12 May 1969 on charges of terrorism. She is detained and interrogated for days by the Apartheid government on her activities in the ANC. She would end up spending 491 days in jail and undergoing 2 different trials whilst incarcerated. In her journal, Winnie describes the state of her deteriorating health, her prison cell and detainment – having to live on one Mealie meal a day and rotten porridge for breakfast, a single unsanitary bucket that would serve as her toilet, sink and table, being held in solitary confinement for days on end and what that can do to the human psyche and her frustrations with the prison wardens and SA government during the period of her detention.

Winnie’s description of prison conditions gave me chills. Her resilience, dedication and commitment to South Africa was inspiring. But I wanted more. I wanted to learn about her childhood, how she met Nelson, what made her tick, what shaped her beliefs and resolve, Winnie the mother, Winnie the wife, Winnie the freedom fighter, a vulnerable Winnie and a strong Winnie. This is not that book. The journal entries are disjointed and make reference to other documents that are not available, the recounting of events did not strike an emotional chord with me – the entries were too methodical and militant.

The second part of the book contains letters exchanged between Winnie and Mandela and some written by their counsel, but don’t get too excited – 90% of these letters are by Nelson Mandela written to various family members while he was locked up on Robben Island. I think I only counted 3 letters written by Winnie. Reading these letters, I couldn’t help but acknowledge Mandela was indeed a living saint! His good nature, kind spirit, strength, appreciation for Winnie and family, even in the face of adversity shines through in his letters and I couldn’t help but admire the man. We actually get a better sense of the man Mandela was more than we get to learn about Winnie which I feel is a disservice to Winnie.

I am still on the lookout for a book that is about Winnie Mandela – send me your recommendations.

[Dide Mnguni · Rating 4 out of 5]

The account of what she had to go through in prison is too raw and sad, couldn't help but feel like she suffered unjustly ! I love the letters she writes to Nelson, they bare her soul to him, they tell of her hope to be alive and out of prison to be reunited with her husband.It's moving to see how 2 people who love each other so much keep their love alive by the little memories that mean so much to them,AWESOME!..Good book.

[Juliana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to finally get the chance to read this book but after I turned the last page, I am not sure I still held onto that excitement that stirred me in the first place.

(Disclaimer: my review is purely based on the timelines of the book- The 491 days with no influence of what Winnie was thought to be and what she had done in the course of the struggle)

Let me start with the positive. As you go through the chapters, it was clear that Madiba loved Zami. No questions asked. He cherished her companionship, her thoughts about him and the children. He felt helpless that he had left his young bride to endure the struggle out there in the jungle without him by her side. Zami loved Madiba as it was clear in Mandela’s responses to her letters but she was not expressive as he was. She was stubborn, unrelenting and forthright in her dealings which made her clearly Impossible to love but impossible to forget (The words of Sisonke Msimang , The Resurrection of Winnie Mandela).She was heard more than once saying that she was the most unmarried married woman and this could explain the way she was easily misinterpreted in how she carried herself around and what she did. She came out cold and without feelings towards her husband as well. She never got the chance to love.

Unfortunately, the entries of Madikizela lacked emotion for the lack of a better word. She put down her entries as someone who did not intend to share this with any other person. The footnotes almost get absurd and would make it difficult for one who has no understanding of the South Africa Apartheid to follow through with the entries. The other side of the coin, being Dalibhunga, he out did himself. He wrote with enthusiasm and with so much zeal like that of a poet in love. I loved his reference after Winnie was realized and he freely tells her how he had waited for so long to refer to her ‘My Darling’ and not ‘DadaWethu’. He never got tired of repeating himself in several correspondences to his family and friends nor to his wife. He kept copies of what he sent and did not mind, as he believed that they would be of benefit for a future generation. He valued relations, always trying to keep in touch with the outside would but I guess that comes with being in prison for many years.

As per my review, it was clear that Madiba took over the book. I was learning more about him than Zami. I yearned to get to know her, what she thought and felt at different periods in time as she was ever in and out in prison. Who was she at that period in time? She was becoming more of a cliché to me while I was busy looking for the Mother of the Nation. At the end of the book though, she comes out so strong and I could feel her every being and I asked myself, where were you?

Generally, this book would call for an audience that already knew what happened in that period in time in South Africa(12 May 1969- 14 September 1970), meaning, not a very friendly read but if you are as curious as I am. Well, you will still read the book.

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[Gugu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, the only reason I did not give it 5 stars is because I felt the inclusion of Mandela's letters to other people was not necessary. An account which is meant to be Winnie's is again diluted by Nelson's. As Zukiswa Wanner wrote: Madikizela-Mandela, more than any other figure in our history, was responsible for keeping the Mandela name in the public imagination and the narrative of the struggle. May we be kinder to Mam Winnie in death and may we learn to protect each other and our country to ensure that all South Africans are treated with the dignity that they deserve. With the dignity we did not afford her. These extracts meant the most to me:

"When I was in detention for all those months, my two children nearly died. When I came out they were so lean; they had had such a hard time. They were covered in sores, malnutrition sores. And they wonder why I am like I am. And they have a nerve to say, ‘Oh Madiba is such a peaceful person, you know. We wonder how he had such a wife who is so violent?’ The leadership on Robben Island was never touched; the leadership on Robben Island had no idea what it was like to engage the enemy physically. The leadership was removed and cushioned behind prison walls; they had their three meals a day. In fact, ironically, we must thank the authorities for keeping our leadership alive; they were not tortured. They did not know what we were talking about and when we were reported to be so violent, engaged in the physical struggle, fighting the Boers underground, they did not understand because none of them had ever been subjected to that, not even Madiba himself—they never touched him, they would not have dared."

I lost my individuality: ‘Mandela’s wife said this’, ‘Mandela’s wife was arrested’. It did not matter who the hell I was; it did not matter that I was a Madikizela; it did not matter that I was a human being. And it was understandable to the oppressor that whatever they did to Mandela’s wife, she deserved it. So I thought, ‘My goodness I’ve grown up a princess in my own home; I come from the Royal House of Pondoland; and suddenly I’ve lost my identity because of this struggle. I am going to fix them. I will fight them and I will establish my own identity.’ I deliberately did that. I said I was not going to bask in his shadow and be known as ‘Mandela’s wife’; they were going to know me as Zanyiwe Madikizela. I fought for that. I said, ‘I will not even bask in his politics. I am going to form my own identity because I never did bask in his ideas.’ I had my own mind.

"I realised that, my goodness, if you are married you lose your identity completely. I became a nobody and I had grown up walking tall in my home. I had been taught by my mother and my father that I must walk tall. I am me; I am black; I must be proud of my blackness."

[Rhona Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the language at times is a bit forced, the clear horror of what Winnie Madikizela-Mandela had to endure stays. This should be compulsory reading for everyone from both sides of the political fence so that we can all reiterate: NEVER AGAIN!
Unfortunately, history has a habit of repeating itself. I wonder what she would say about our beloved country and the world today.

Quotes that stayed:
The invisible wound was more painful than the visible one

No power on earth can prevent an idea whose time has come

For no man with any manhood in himself can lead a normal life in an abnormal society

Not until you have discovered what is worth dying for is life really worth living.

You are alive because you breathe

Solitary confinement was designed to kill you so slowly you were long dead before you died. By the time you died you were nobody. You had no soul anymore and a body without a soul is a corpse anyway. It was unbelievable that you survived all that. When I was told that most of my torturers were dead, I was so heartbroken. I wanted them to see the dawn of freedom. I wanted them to see how they lost their battle with all that they did to us, that we survived. We are the survivors who made history.

The nearer the danger, the safer the place.

I discovered that the only way to survive those days were to operate alone.

Daybreak was nightfall.

I have been taught by my mother and my father to walk tall. I am me; I am black; I must be proud of my blackness.

The liberation of your fellow man was the greatest reward.

And what makes things difficult, of course, is when they see what is happening today to other people is all about enrichment and it was never about self-sacrifice.

Right now people like myself who come from that era become petrified when we see us sliding and becoming more and more like our oppressive masters.

If you keep pounding and pounding on the same spot the feeling dies, the nerves die. I can feel us sliding back to that right now.

[George Custodio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winnie Mandela once asked her interrogators for a nail file during solitary confinement—just to keep up appearances, she said. “What if someone important came to visit?” The absurdity cracked even them up. 491 Days is packed with moments like this: grit laced with wit, pain met with unshakable dignity. Through diary entries and letters, we witness her isolation, resilience, and razor-sharp mind. It’s not an easy read—but it’s a necessary one. A raw, unfiltered window into the cost of resistance.

In the end, what shines brightest is her strength. She didn’t just survive—she kept her spirit intact.

[MJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is important as a historical document, but my goodness is it sloooooooooooooooowwwww going. Which makes sense - it is a collection of notes and letters from the author's time in prison awaiting trial.

[Rhoda (Lala) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winifred Nomzamo Madikizela Mandela.
If I could describe her in a few words; Fearless. Tenacious. Strong. Committed. Unapologetic.
Read more: https://www.instagram.com/p/BmqnNoDFl...

[Sibusiso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book made me understand what activism actually is, that feminism has its history in African women as well and how easy it is for African women to do the heavy lifting in history and be easily written out of the same history.

[Talane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book so much. As a young black woman born and raised in South Africa, it made me realize how much our leaders fought for our freedom. Got to understand Mama Winnies story in depth . Learned so much from this book.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely a recommendation for the history lovers, I also picked up elements of love in the book which I found very insightful.

The epilogue is the cherry on top with an intense woman empowerment theme. I found it very refreshing overall to read mama Winnie perspective of history.

[Gali Chirwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very important book in our history. Many themes at play here, besides the obvious setting of the political struggles: love, resilience, parenting, grief. I found the book to tug at my heartstrings at every corner out of sadness, anger and belief in how far true love can take you.

[Tilly Ngope · Rating 2 out of 5]

The letters between two lovers , heartbreaking n it shows we should value freedom n well-being .

[Itai Gurira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning read worth having

[Jbondandrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

A part of Winnie Mandela's life that I did not know about.

[Buhlebamantungwa Mabaso Ka Mbuli · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read to understand the role of women in South African liberation.

[Tarika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winnie was a brave and determined woman. Don't let the smear campaign propaganda distract you from this.

[Maphuti Langa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a prime example of a book that I have overlooked for years but so glad I finally picked it up this year. I have read multiple accounts of the late Mama Winnie’s life but I loved the journals, notes and letters of her personal accounts. As an active freedom fighter she was no stranger to harassment. The book details her arrest by the National party government in 1969 under the Terrorism Act.
In her own words she describes the heart wrenching mental and physical torture she suffered at the hands of the apartheid police. The book includes details the 491 days of her solidarity confinement resulting in her suffering episodes of blackouts, hyperventilating and a case of cardiac arrest. The book does a great job of displaying the cruelty and inhumane treatment of political prisoners at that time, I liked the fact that Mam Winnie’s point of view was told but it irked me a bit that towards the end the book was filled with letters of Nelson Mandela almost shadowing over her story.

Fav Quotes ❤️
“Solidarity confinement was designed to kill you so slowly that you were long dead before you died. By the time you died you were a nobody. You had no soul anymore, and a body without a soul is a corpse anyway.”

“Throughout the years of oppression, I think my feelings got blunted because you were so tortured that the pain reached a threshold where you could feel the pain anymore. If you keep pounding and pounding on the same spot the feeling dies, the nerves die.”

[Cheraé · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book brings about a different level of perspective for mama Winnie, her point of view within the politics and her hardship as a woman-fighter during the struggle.

[Dean Summers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nelson Mandela had been a prisoner on Robben Island for nearly five years when, on May 12, 1969, his wife Winnie (Zanyiwe Madikizela) was taken from her home and her two young daughters at 2:00 AM by the South African Police. For the next 491 days, isolated from the outside world, she would be subjected to interrogation, torture, solitary confinement—to life-threatening brutality and soul-crushing indignities.

491 Days: Prisoner Number 1323/69 is a book in two parts. Part One is a journal and notes written by Ms. Madikizela during those sixteen months of detention. Part Two is correspondence dating from that time from Winnie and Nelson Mandela to one another and to family and friends, lawyers and prison officials.

This book is an exposé of the dark side of law and order at the service of the keepers of privilege and power when their privilege and power are threatened. This book will help you understand Winnie Mandela. It will help you understand Nelson Mandela, Apartheid, and the New South Africa.

[Kelishagraves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading the autobiography of Winnie Madikizela Mandela entitled: 491 Days. It was not only POWERFUL and RIVETING, but at points it was painfully raw. A must read for sure!
Despite the many controversies that have been heaped against Mrs. Madikizela-Mandela throughout the years my statement is this: Never pass judgement on a person's life before knowing the full story. I definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in understanding the position and treatment of black women in apartheid era South Africa.
What does it mean to volunteer your body as one of the many battlefields against which violence is routinely enacted? As a black woman, what does it mean to exist in a white supremacist regime where your dignity is routinely assaulted? This book puts it out there! #KnowledgeIsPower

[Eliana Nzualo]

A powerful book.
I recommend it speacially to people who have an interest in Law or Political Science, since it touches on some technicalities that need to be understood in order to fully grasp the situation in which Winnie was putted.
The Apartheid regime was indeed a dark force that tried to wreck her, but she survived and lived to tell her side of the story.
It's only unfortunate that there aren't many letters from her on the book.
It leaves you wanting more. It leaved you needing more.
I hope she writes more books, not only on her life, that is, an autobiography but also on Politics and her views of the world.
AMANDLAAAAAA!!

[Cebisa Luzipho · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt incredibly hurt and depleted after reading this book. I wish there was less about Nelson Mandela, especially since Winnie constantly speaks about how being her own person was important to her.

Overall, the diary entry style might be a slow start for some but it's very necessary for painting a very barefaced picture (free of any frills) of what prison life was for our beloved Zanyiwe Madikizela.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Impressive in theory, underwhelming in actuality. Of course Madikizela-Mandela is incredibly brave and incredibly important in the history of South Africa, but this journal was dry as paint. The letters were better (since they were not just written for personal reference) but still make for a rather disjointed, dissatisfying collection.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the journal entries are a bit hard to get through - lots of references to other persons that I am unfamiliar with. Interesting look at what she actually endured/suffered, though. And easy to see how she veered off toward more violent means of revolution than did Mandela.

[Siwe]

put it on my DNF shelf. I can't finish it and I sort of feel bad because Winnie just passed away but I'm going to watch her documentary. other than that, I can't even make promises of whether I'll ever return to it. also I was put off with Nelson's letters. yo, I feel weird writing all of this.