Anti-apartheid activist Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, wife of Nelson Mandela during his decades of imprisonment, died on Monday, Reuters reported, citing a family spokesman. She was 81. Madikizela-Mandela died peacefully following a long illness that had seen her in and out of hospital since the start of the year, according to Victor Dlamini. “She fought valiantly against the apartheid state and sacrificed her life for the freedom of the country,” the statement said. Madikizela-Mandela was jailed several times for her part in the fight against white-minority rule and she campaigned for the release of her husband at home and abroad.