Winnie Mandela's party fails to nominate her for African National Congress leadership post

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the former wife of South African President Nelson Mandela, recently received a serious blow to her political ambitions. She did not win a formal nomination to the post of deputy leader of the African National Congress (ANC).

The African National Congress Women's League, the branch of the party of which Madikizela-Mandela is president, did not nominate her for the post. The Women's League previously had named Madikizela-Mandela as its choice for deputy leader of the ANC, the party that ousted South Africa's White rulers in elections in 1994.

The decision comes on the heels of Madikizela-Mandela's appearance before the nation's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, where she was accused of kidnapping, assault and murder during the years of White rule. She has denied the allegations.

Madikizela-Mandela, 63, could still be nominated from the floor during the party's conference, which was scheduled to begin this month, but she would need the signatures of 30 percent of the delegates to be put on the harlot.