14th July, 2020
Zindzi Mandela, daughter of former South African president amazingly died same day with her elder brother, 51 years apart.
The eldest son of Nelson Mandela, Madiba Thembekile, a.k.a Thembi died in a car accident on 13 July 1969, when Mandela was serving life in jail.
Thembekile was 24 years old at the time, having been born on 23 February 1945.
Zindzi, former ambassador to Denmark also died in the early hours of 13 July in Johannesburg. She was 59 years-old.
The amazing coincidence was shared by the Nelson Mandela Foundation in a tweet Monday.
On this day, 13 July 1969 #NelsonMandela’s eldest son Madiba Thembekile (Thembi) dies in a car accident pic.twitter.com/yEmkt2JzKg
— NelsonMandela (@NelsonMandela) July 13, 2020
To compound the July conundrum, Nelson Mandela was born 18 July 1918.
Zindzi Mandela, the youngest daughter of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Nelson Mandela, rose to international prominence when she read out Nelson Mandela’s rejection of then-president P.W. Botha’s offer of a conditional release from prison in 1985.
The Mandela Legacy Foundation, speaking on behalf of the family, said memorial and funeral arrangements for Zindzi would be announced in the course of the week.