Winnie to keep vow to 'Tookie '

2005-12-13 22:20

Eduan Roos and Sapa

Johannesburg - If it was still his family's wish for him to be buried in South Africa, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela would do everything in her power to ensure that Stanley "Tookie" Williams's body was brought back here.

A spokesperson for the ex-wife of former president Nelson Mandela, told Beeld this on Tuesday.

Convicted murderer Williams, 51, was executed on Tuesday in San Quention Prison in California, despite repeated requests from groups opposed to the death penalty and celebrities, asking California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to grant him clemency.

Madikizela-Mandela joined the ranks of celebrities such as the Rev Jesse Jackson, film star Jamie Foxx and rap singer Snoop Doggy Dogg who came out against Schwarzenegger and the US government's use of the death penalty.

Madikizela-Mandela's spokesperson Udo Froese said that, so far, there had not been any official communication between her and the Williams family in Los Angeles.

'She will keep her promise'

"She is not prepared at present to comment on Schwarzenegger's decision to proceed with Williams's execution," said Froese.

"But, she will keep her promise to ensure that Williams is buried in South Africa."

Former gang leader Williams, who was given the death penalty in 1981 for murdering four people in 1979, announced last week that his last wish was to be buried in South Africa.

His ex-wife, Bonnie Williams Taylor, said in a telephone interview that Williams had been "very impressed" with Madikizela-Mandela when he met her in 1996.

Peace prize nominee five times

"She had an enormous influence on his life and it is his wish to be laid to rest there," she said.

Williams had been nominated five times for the Nobel Peace Prize for his part in the anti-gang struggle in America.

His fate was in Schwarzenegger's hands, but the governor decided there were insufficient grounds to commute Williams's death sentence to life imprisonment.

"Is his (Williams's) remorse sincere, or merely an empty promise?" asked Schwarzenegger. - Beeld/Sapa

- Beeld