Narrative Time and the Space of the Image: The Truth of the Lie in Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's Testimony before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

The article begins by examining the relationship between truth and reconciliation as propounded by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). It contrasts a linear conception of this relationship with an iterative conception and equates these conceptions with the narrative and the image, respectively. The article then proceeds to explore the implications of the image, or the imaginary, as the “other” of the TRC narrative. It argues that the distinction between narrative and image in respect to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s testimony makes possible an understanding of her evasions as lies that reveal a different kind of truth from the one the TRC had expected to uncover.