New Netflix documentary reexamines Winnie Mandela's divisive legacy

Africa New Netflix documentary reexamines Winnie Mandela's divisive legacy Updated May 2, 20266:00 AM ET Originally published May 2, 20266:00 AM ET By  Kate Bartlett Winnie Mandela raises her fist during the funeral for 17 people who were killed during fierce rioting on Wed. March 5, 1986 in Johannesburg's Alexandra township. AP hide caption toggle caption AP JOHANNESBURG, South Africa —Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is one of the most revered —and controversial — women in South African history, but to her grandchildren the anti-apartheid icon was always just their beloved 'Big Mommy.'  Now two of Mandela's granddaughters are reexamining her divisive legacy in a new Netflix documentary series called The Trials of Winnie Mandela, currently only available in Africa. In the trailer for the series, sisters Princess Swati Dlamini-Mandela and Princess Zaziwe Mandela-Manaway acknowledge they have set themselves a hard task, asking "How do you ask your grandmother, are you a murderer, are you a kidnapper?'"  Sponsor Message But they think they managed to present an unbiased portrayal of Winnie in the series. "I'm so proud of this work, because it is not just a myopic view of a person that we love, but also who is complex, and has had a complex history," says Dlamini-Mandela, 47. While Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first Black president and a global icon – having spent 27 years in jail for his role in the fight against apartheid – his wife Winnie, who was arguably just as instrumental in that fight, has been widely maligned.  That's because Winnie is accused of encouraging some of the worst Black-on-Black violence in the townships during apartheid in the 1980's.  A gang of youths associated with her, called the Mandela United Football Club, were responsible for vigilante abductions and killings of those suspected of being government informers – even children. In 1997, she appeared in front of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission established by the new government to...