Mandela a true story of freedom-South Africa Freedom Day Supplement
May 05, 2012
At 94-years, Nelson ‘Madiba’ Mandela may be frail, but his legacy is one of an extra-ordinary selfless service to human race
By Joel Ogwang
At 94-years, Nelson ‘Madiba’ Mandela may be frail, but his legacy is one of an extra-ordinary selfless service to human race. His spirited fight for a world of freedom and racial equality, especially a successful peaceful revolution against apartheid, will forever endear him in the lives of present and future generations, that a man who suffered 27 years of dehumanising jail-life to become South Africa’s first democratically elected black President in 1994, served only five years before stepping down and, above all, embracing his tormentors and suitors alike, enviously makes a mockery of the current crop of most African leaders.
He served South Africa, Africa and the world with the same conviction; equality for all. Mandela’s charisma, self-deprecating sense of humour and lack of bitterness over his harsh treatment, as well as his amazing life story, partly explain his extraordinary global appeal befitting of his 1993 Nobel Peace Prize.
Since stepping down as President in 1999, Mandela has become South Africa’s highest-profile ambassador, campaigning against HIV/Aids and helping to secure his country’s right to host the 2010 football World Cup. He was involved in peace negotiations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and other countries in Africa and globally.
At the age of 85 in 2004, Mandela retired from public life, opting to spend his private life with his family and friends and engage in “quiet reflection”.
Early life
Born on July 18, 1918 into the Xhosa- village of Mvezo in Transkei Province, Rolihlahla Dalibhunga Mandela, known mostly by his native ‘Madiba’ clan name. His father, a counsellor to the Thembu royal family, died when Mandela was nine, and he was placed in the care of the acting regent of the Thembu people.
He joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1944, first as an activist, then as the founder and President of the ANC Youth League. Mandela married his first wife, Evelyn Mase, in 1944, but divorced in 1958 with four children. He qualified as a lawyer and, in 1952 opened the first black law firm in Johannesburg where he partnered with long-time friend, Oliver Tambo.
Mandela campaigned against apartheid, an autocratic system started by the all-white National Party to oppress the black majority. In 1956, Mandela was charged with high treason, along with 155 other activists, but the charges against him were dropped after a four-year trial. In 1958, Mandela married Winnie Madikizela. When ANC was outlawed in 1960, Mandela went underground, brewing tension with the apartheid regime.
He was arrested and charged with sabotage and attempting to violently overthrow the government. Conducting his own defence in the Rivonia court room, Mandela used the stand to convey his beliefs about democracy, freedom and equality. “I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities,” he said.
“It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” In 1964, Mandela was sentenced to life in prison. In 12 months (1968-69), Mandela’s mother died and his eldest son was killed in a car crash, but he was not allowed to attend the funerals.
He remained in prison on Robben Island for 18 years before being transferred to Pollsmoor Prison on the mainland in 1982. In 1980, Tambo, an exile, launched an international campaign to release Mandela, resulting in tight sanctions imposed on South Africa in 1967.
Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment for sabotage in what was known as the “Rivonia Trial,” by Justice Dr. Quartus de Wet. In his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom (1995), Mandela writes: “When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice, but to become an outlaw.”
In his book Mandela talks of his childhood name, Rolihlahla, which loosely translates as “pulling the branch of a tree,” or a “troublemaker.” Indeed, Mandela has lived true to his names, once regarded as a terrorist but is now seen as noncontroversial and one of the true embodiments of humanity.
On his 80th birthday, Mandela married Graca Machel. He entrusted his deputy, Thabo Mbeki, with the day- to-day business of the Government, while he took on ceremonial duties.
Soon after retiring from the Presidency, he dedicated his life to the Mandela Foundation, a charitable fund he founded.
Nelson Madiba Mandela was ready to die for SA freedom
Fact file
- 1918 - Born in the Eastern Cape
- 1944 - Joined African National Congress
- 1956 - Charged with high treason, but charges dropped
- 1962 - Arrested, convicted of sabotage, sentenced to five years in prison
- 1964 - Charged again, sentenced to life
- 1990 - Freed from prison
- 1993 - Wins Nobel Peace Prize
- 1994 - Elected first black president
- 1999 - Steps down as leader
- 2001 - Diagnosed with prostate cancer
- 2004 - Retires from public life
- 2005 - Announces his son has died of an HIV/AIDS-related illness
- 2007 - Forms The Elders group
- 2010 - Appears at closing ceremony of World Cup