Stitch - Winnie was a huge embarrassment to the ANC, including Mandela, when he was in prison. She surrounded herself with a group of thugs (the so-called Mandela Football Club) and was involved in some horrendous violence. She was accused (in Court) of personally beating to death a young boy (Stompie Mokoetsi) and was found Not Guilty only because several key witnesses were too intimidated to testify against her. The Mandela marriage was effectively over long before Nelson was released, but he hesitated to divorce her, because of the huge propaganda boost this would give to the apartheid regime. Winnie Mandela is a dangerous, disturbed woman. No doubt one of the reasons why she became so disturbed was the strain she was put under by Nelson's imprisonment, but this does not excuse her excesses.
The following gives you some information about the events surrounding his imprisonment: nobel . Yes, he did plot against the government, but you seem confused about this. 'He must have done something' and yet you are against apartheid. Should anti-apartheid South Africans not have actively opposed the government?
"and how do you know that nm wasnt involved in this sort of thing? he's a politician in africa...." This is simply racism.