Tuhia he tohutoro mō tēnei wāhanga - I whakatipuhia e Madonsela ana tamariki tokorua, he tama, he kotiro, hei mātua kotahi. I mate tana tāne i te mea he tamariki tonu nga tamariki. I te tau 1980, i tiimata a Madonsela i tana mahi hei kaiawhina kaiako i tana kura o mua, Evelyn Baring High School, i Swaziland. I te tau 1982 ka noho ia hei kaiāwhina kaiako i te Kura Tuarua o Naledi i Soweto, tetahi o nga kura i te pokapū o te 1976 Soweto Uprising.
He aha? I te mutunga o Hurae 2018, i whakaatuhia ko Madonsela i whakaipoipo ki a Dick Foxton, he kaitohutohu whanaungatanga hapori.