Winnie Mandela’s House Searched, 10 Blacks Arrested
Police on Friday searched the house of the wife of jailed African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela in the black township of Soweto and arrested 10 black youths, authorities said.
Witnesses said dozens of police and soldiers arrived about 5:30 a.m. in cars and trucks and surrounded the house that Winnie Mandela shares with her daughter, Zindzi.
A police spokesman in Pretoria said Mandela and her daughter were present on Oct. 20 in a house where a black man and woman were forcibly taken, then robbed and assaulted.
The spokesman said 10 black youths were arrested Friday and were being held for the assault and robbery. Five of them were arrested at the Mandela home and the other five at her new home nearby, which is under construction.
“It was suspected that the suspects and the stolen property might be at Mrs. Mandela’s house in Orlando West, and policemen went to the house early today,” the spokesman said.
A police statement said: “Police are also investigating charges of cultivating dagga (marijuana) and possession of suspected stolen property.”
Mandela called the incident “sheer uncalled-for provocation.”
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
