He was becoming increasingly involved in the African National Congress and its campaign against apartheid; Mase eschewed politics and became a Jehovah's Witness.

She generally avoided publicity, but spoke to South African reporters when Mandela was released from prison after 27 years in 1990.

[3] A devout Christian, Sam had a close friendship with former schoolmate Walter Sisulu;[5] they were cousins, as their mothers were sisters.

She trained as a nurse in the city's non-European hospital at Hillbrow, fulfilling the wishes of her late mother that she would enter that profession.

[3] Evelyn and Sam continued to visit the Sisulus at their new house, 7372 Orlando West, meeting their lodger, Nelson Mandela.

[14] The newly married couple had little money;[15] Mase earned 18 pounds a month from nursing while Mandela worked part-time.

[15] They moved into a room at the house of Evelyn's sister Kate, where they lived alongside her husband Mgudlwa, a clerk at City Deep Mines, and two children.

[16] Mase later claimed that their relationship in these early years was happy,[15] commenting that "Everyone we knew said that we made a very good couple.

[20] The accommodation was basic, with a cement floor, tin roof, and a bucket toilet;[21] it was in the black residential area that later became known as Soweto.

[26] In 1953, Mase decided to upgrade her nursing certificate so that she could become a midwife, enrolling at the King Edward VII Hospital in Durban.

[37] While Mandela became increasingly politicised, Mase converted to the Jehovah's Witnesses and publicly distributed their magazine, The Watchtower.

[41] In his autobiography, Mandela claimed that he would often attend political meetings late at night and that this led Mase to accuse him of having an extra-marital affair.

[43] This account, written shortly after his release from a 27-year imprisonment but before his election as President of South Africa, may have aimed to avoid damaging his heroic reputation.

[44] Later biographers highlighted further evidence that suggested Mase's accusation of adultery was correct; Mandela admitted to fellow activist Mac Maharaj that during the early 1950s he had led "a thoroughly immoral life".

[44] Several biographers, including David James Smith and Martin Meredith, argued that while married to Mase, Mandela was having affairs with both his secretary, Ruth Mompati, and with the ANC activist Lillian Ngoyi.

[45] At one point, Mase warned Mandela that if he ever brought Mompati back to their house again she would pour boiling water over her.

[48] Mase told Walter Sisulu about the affairs; this angered Mandela, who did not want news of his infidelity shared with others.

[52] Scrutinising this account of events, Smith noted that this chronology did not match that from other sources, and that, as far as he could tell, "that scene [of Mandela coming out of prison to find his wife had left him] never happened".

[53] She lodged a particular of claims report at the Native District Court in May 1956, in which she stated that she was seeking a divorce because Mandela had repeatedly physically assaulted her.

[56] As part of her claim, Mase sought custody of her children, formal separation from Mandela, and a £50 monthly maintenance payment from him.

[55] He also informed his friend, the ANC activist Ahmed Kathrada, that the only time he had used physical force against his wife was when she was threatening him with a red hot poker and he had to disarm her.

[53] In his 1956 petition, Mandela did not seek custody of his daughter but did so for his two sons, arguing that they would be better off living with him as their school was only 150 yards from his home, as opposed to two miles from Sam Mase's house.

[57] Smith thought that Mase was hoping for reconciliation with her husband, while Mandela wanted to avoid a public divorce hearing which would damage his standing in the ANC.

[62] Mase was granted custody of all three children; Mandela agreed to pay her a £50 lump sum and then a monthly maintenance stipend of £15.

[62] Mase took much of the furniture from their Orlando home and the title deeds to a plot of land Mandela owned in Umtata.

[62] In his autobiography, Mandela noted that his first wife "was a very good woman, charming, strong and faithful, and a fine mother.

[63] She was assisted in obtaining the shop from its white owners by Kaiser Matanzima, a local politician who was Mandela's kinsman.

[64] When it came to raising her children, Mase was a disciplinarian influenced by her religious values; she for instance forbade them to watch films.

[71] Amid growing speculation that Mandela would be released from prison in 1990, Mase pinned a notice to the gate of her house asking media to leave her alone.

[74] In later years, Mase became a Pioneer, a position within the Jehovah's Witness organisation necessitating greater commitment to the religion.