Winnie Mandela, whose Brandfort house was the scene of a major incident involving police this week, has not returned to her house because of her lawyers fears for her safety.
Her Johannesburg lawyer, Ismail Ayob, said he had asked her to stay “in a safe place”. He declined to reveal her whereabouts.
She was in Johannesburg this week, undergoing medical treatment when police broke up a demonstration by pupils near her house and then, according to George Bosman, who looks after her house in her absence, pursued those pupils seeking refuge in her house.
Bosman alleges police forced entry, breaking doors in the process. Police say they hurled tear smoke grenades into the house after being attacked by youths brandishing spades, knives and axes.
A Weekly Mail reporter who visited the house a day after the incident found doom and windows broken and food, clothing and medicine scattered over the floor. Traces of blood were spattered on the walls of Mandela’s bedroom.