Police Detain Winnie Mandela After Finding Spent Cartridges
Police briefly detained Winnie Mandela today after finding spent bullet cartridges in her car, witnesses said.
An angry Mrs. Mandela claimed that the incident was part of an ongoing plan to harass her and her husband, African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela.
The incident came a day after the government announced that it will prosecute her on charges of kidnaping and assault for the 1988 abduction and beating of four youths.
She was traveling today in her white Mercedes Benz through the Tokoza township southeast of Johannesburg when she was stopped at a police roadblock.
“Mrs. Mandela apparently picked up the shells while visiting,” Police Capt. Ida van Zweel said. “She handed them to a policeman. There is no crime involved.”
She was taken to a local police station and released shortly afterward, witnesses said.
The ANC said Mandela had been invited to the township by residents who wanted to hand over the spent cartridges from the recent black factional fighting.
The organization said it “condemns the harassment meted out to Mrs. Winnie Mandela” by police “intent on curbing the normal activity of the ANC.”
Mrs. Mandela is expected to be formally charged Monday on four counts of kidnaping and four counts of assault related to the 1988 incident.
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