Canada denies visa to Winnie Mandela

TORONTO – Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the former wife of anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela, was denied a visa and will not be allowed to enter Canada, organisers of a gala fundraiser said Tuesday.

Madikizela-Mandela was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at ‘A Night in Soweto’ concert with MusicaNoir, an organisation which promotes cultural diversity in music. The controversial ex-wife of Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, had to cancel her trip at the last moment on Monday, said Carole Adriaans of MusicaNoir.Madikizela-Mandela’s daughter and two security guards were granted visas, but Madikizela-Mandela’s application was declined, Adriaans said.”She was devastated.She burst out crying and she couldn’t believe it.We can’t believe it,” Adriaans said.Adriaans did not know why the visa application was denied.But spokesperson Karen Shadd-Evelyn issued a statement that said, “persons are deemed inadmissible to come to Canada for a variety of reasons including if they have been convicted of a serious crime.It is up to applicants to satisfy visa officers that they are coming to Canada on a temporary basis and that they are otherwise admissible to Canada.”In Ottawa, opposition Liberal Party Leader Stephane Dion called the visa refusal surprising.”It’s an embarrassment to be in a situation like that when the Department of Foreign Affairs is unable to explain to us what is happening,” Dion said.”There have been problems in the past, but to prevent her from coming in the country, it is something that they need to justify,” Dion said of Madikizela-Mandela’s criminal convictions.In 1991, she was sentenced to six years in jail for her role in a kidnapping case.The sentence was reduced to a fine on appeal, but she was later convicted of fraud and theft charges.’The Passion of Winnie,’ a new opera based on Madikizela-Mandela’s life, is scheduled to be presented on Friday as part of Toronto’s Luminato Festival.Nampa-APThe controversial ex-wife of Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, had to cancel her trip at the last moment on Monday, said Carole Adriaans of MusicaNoir.Madikizela-Mandela’s daughter and two security guards were granted visas, but Madikizela-Mandela’s application was declined, Adriaans said.”She was devastated.She burst out crying and she couldn’t believe it.We can’t believe it,” Adriaans said.Adriaans did not know why the visa application was denied.But spokesperson Karen Shadd-Evelyn issued a statement that said, “persons are deemed inadmissible to come to Canada for a variety of reasons including if they have been convicted of a serious crime.It is up to applicants to satisfy visa officers that they are coming to Canada on a temporary basis and that they are otherwise admissible to Canada.”In Ottawa, opposition Liberal Party Leader Stephane Dion called the visa refusal surprising.”It’s an embarrassment to be in a situation like that when the Department of Foreign Affairs is unable to explain to us what is happening,” Dion said.”There have been problems in the past, but to prevent her from coming in the country, it is something that they need to justify,” Dion said of Madikizela-Mandela’s criminal convictions.In 1991, she was sentenced to six years in jail for her role in a kidnapping case.The sentence was reduced to a fine on appeal, but she was later convicted of fraud and theft charges.’The Passion of Winnie,’ a new opera based on Madikizela-Mandela’s life, is scheduled to be presented on Friday as part of Toronto’s Luminato Festival.Nampa-AP