A GEM KNOWN AS MANDELA

“It always seems impossible until it’s done”

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, father of modern South Africa, was born on July 18, 1918, Mvezo.
Responsible for ending the apartheid system of racial segregation with F.W. de Klerkby his side
he ushered in peaceful transition of majority thus jointly winning Noble prize for peace in 1993.
In order to truly and correctly appreciate all that he did, we must start from the very beginning,
he was the son of Chief Henry Mandela of the Madiba clan of the Xhosa-speaking Tembu
people, and after demise of his father he was raised by regeant of the clan, he renounced his
claim chieftainship and sought to become a lawyer, after passing the qualification exam to
become a lawyer, in 1944 he joined African national congress (ANC) a Black-liberation group,
using his leadership position in ANC he helped revitalize the organization and oppose the
apartheid policies of the ruling National Party.
From establishing South Africa first black law practice in 1952 to launching a campaign of
defiance against South Africa’s pass laws, He traveled throughout the country as part of the
campaign, trying to build support for nonviolent means of protest against the discriminatory
laws. In 1955 he was involved in drafting the Freedom Charter, a document calling for nonracial
social democracy in South Africa. But things were far from easy for him, Mandela’s
antiapartheid activism made him a frequent target of the authorities. Starting in 1952 he was
temporarily banned from travel association and speech. In December 1956 he was arrested with
more than 100 other people on charges of treason that were designed to harass antiapartheid
activists.
From prison to president, following paragraph will paint the entire journey from the time of
arrest to his inauguration ceremony. Opposing the South Africa’s apartheid laws led Mandela to
be imprisoned even though many South Africans defied apartheid. Tactics included civil
disobedience campaigns, national strikes and boycotts. However, South African government
responded to demands for equality and freedom with repression and violence. They shot and
killed unarmed demonstrators and detained and arrested many others. Defiance of apartheid had
started peacefully, but Mandela now believed that armed struggle was the only way forward. He
and others formed an armed resistance group called Umkhonto weSizwe (“Spear of the Nation”),
also known as MK. Mandela spent 17 months underground trying to gain support for the armed
struggle, but was arrested in 1962. Then, in 1963, Mandela was put on trial for a number of
charges. He and seven of his colleagues were sentenced to life in prison. The Rivonia Trial began
at Pretoria Supreme Court in October, with Mandela and his comrades charged with four counts
of sabotage and conspiracy to violently overthrow the government. Mandela and his fellow
comrades used the trial to highlight their political cause; at the opening of the defence's
proceedings, Mandela gave his three-hour "I Am Prepared to Die" speech.
“I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have
cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in
harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to see realised.
But if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die”.
Mandela's Rivonia Trial Speech, 1964
 A GEM KNOWN AS MANDELA

The trial gained international attention; there were global calls for the release of the accused from the
United Nations and World Peace Council, while the University of London Union voted Mandela to its
presidency.[144] On 12 June 1964, justice De Wet found Mandela and two of his co-accused guilty on all
four charges; although the prosecution had called for the death sentence to be applied, the judge instead
condemned them to life imprisonment. In 1964, Mandela and his co-accused were transferred from
Pretoria to the prison on Robben Island, remaining there for the next 18 years. confined to a small cell
without a bed or plumbing and was forced to do hard labor in a quarry. Once a year, he was allowed to
meet with a visitor for 30 minutes, and once every six months he could write and receive a letter. The
horrible condition of prison in Robben Island improved from 1967 onwards Black prisoners were given
trousers rather than shorts, games were permitted, and the standard of their food was raised.[161] In 1969,
an escape plan for Mandela was developed by Gordon Bruce, but it was abandoned after the conspiracy
was infiltrated by an agent of the South African Bureau of State Security (BOSS), who hoped to see
Mandela shot during the escape. After becoming a class A prisoner from class D prisoner. Nelson
Mandela started to work on his autobiography which was smuggled to London, but remained unpublished
at the time; prison authorities discovered several pages, and his studying privileges were revoked for four
years. By 1960s Mandela fame rose and attempts of better relation with young radicals were made,
although he was critical of their racialism and contempt for white anti-apartheid activists.[171] Renewed
international interest in his plight came in July 1978, when he celebrated his 60th birthday. In March
1980, the slogan "Free Mandela!" was developed by journalist Percy Qoboza, sparking an international
campaign that led the UN Security Council to call for his release which of course was denied. In April
1982, Mandela was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison in Tokai, Cape Town. Mandela came down with
tuberculosis in 1988 and spent six weeks recuperating at a hospital and the whites-only Constantiaberg
Clinic outside Cape Town. The damp conditions at Pollsmoor Prison were believed to have contributed to
his illness, so upon his release from the hospital Mandela was moved to Victor Verster Prison. He was
housed in the relative comfort of a warder's house with a personal cook, and he used the time to complete
his LLB degree. After three years of increasingly frequent meetings with government officials, Mandela
was offered a secret meeting with President P.W. Botha on July 5, 1989. Botha was replaced as state
president by de Klerk six weeks later; the new president believed that apartheid was unsustainable and
released a number of ANC prisoners. This paved way for Mandela to gather more support and finally end
the apartheid that had existed in South Africa. In 1993 he was awarded with noble peace prize along with
Frederik Willem de Klerk "for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for
laying the foundations of new democratic South Africa.
On 10 May 1994, after three and a half centuries of colonialism and apartheid, Nelson Mandela became
South Africa's first democratically elected president. By the time he became president, Mandela was 75
years old. In his inaugural speech he stated “Freedom is their reward” Mandela is aware that leading
South Africa through its transition from apartheid under white rule to a united democratic nation will not
be easy. He recalls the sacrifices of those individuals who fought against apartheid and were killed or
imprisoned. He dedicates the future of South Africa to them. But he believes that with his inauguration,
their dreams of freedom have finally become a reality. He announces that freedom is the reward for those
who survived. At the end of his speech, Mandela accepts his new role as president with humility and
gratitude. He acknowledges that the road to freedom is still littered with obstacles and that all citizens
must work together to achieve reconciliation and maintain peace.
Nelson Mandela journey to presidency gives us many uncountable lessons, he taught the world to never
give up hope no matter how the difficulty we face, another lesson taught by him is that education is the
key to bringing about change in the world, if we can teach the world then we can change the world.
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”
A GEM KNOWN AS MANDELA