Mourning Madiba

South Africa’s former President and global icon Nelson ‘Rolihlahla’ Mandela has died aged 95.

Mandela died aged 95 (pic SABC)

Mandela was hospitalised repeatedly over the past year and in June it was announced the former statesman was in a critical condition. Rumours then circulated that he was being kept on life support, but he was eventually released from hospital care and returned to his Johannesburg home.

Current President Jacob Zuma announced Mandela’s death on Thursday night. He died in his Houghton home.

Seen as the last truly global icon, Mandela has for years been regarded as the embodiment of tolerance and peace. He is revered around the world for bringing South Africa back from the brink of national chaos and firmly ending the inequality and cruelty of the apartheid era.

During the apartheid years Mandela was arrested and convicted of sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government, and sentenced to life imprisonment. He spent 27 in prison, including time on Robben Island, in Pollsmoor and Victor Verster prisons, before his release in 1990.

Four years later, South Africa held its first democratic elections and Mandela was inaugurated as President a few months after that poll.

As South Africa’s first black President, he was not content with bringing such an important change to the country, but also strived to bring real reconciliation to the ‘rainbow nation’. He repeatedly emphasised this message of personal forgiveness and reconciliation and famously announced in 1995 that "courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace."

Although only President for one term, the unity and relative peace seen in the country for many years has been attributed to the ‘Madiba magic’ that he managed to spread across the nation. For many South Africans, that ‘magic’ helped develop a vision of a South Africa free from its troubled past, where the country’s legacy would not be rooted in hate, but inspired by tolerance.

“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.” – Mandela, 2002

Mandela was also loved throughout the rest of the world, revered as a voice of truth and of right in the face of wrong. This saw him win hundreds of noted international awards, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Soviet Order of Lenin.

In Zimbabwe, Mandela will be remembered as a respected liberation leader. For many Zimbabweans however, Mandela will also be remembered for not speaking out against Robert Mugabe, despite the human rights abuses being committed by his regime. In 2008, when politically motivated violence was on the rise in Zimbabwe, Mandela came under huge pressure to publicly condemn what was happening.

He eventually made a comment during a visit to the UK, where he said that there was a "tragic failure of leadership" in Zimbabwe. The comment, though lauded as a strong condemnation, was criticised for not being critical enough. The excuse given was that Mandela did not want to interfere in a situation meant to be under the control of his political successor Thabo Mbeki, who in turn faced condemnation for his policy of ‘quiet diplomacy’ towards the crisis in Zimbabwe.

19 years since Mandela become president, South Africa’s battles have changed, with poverty, corruption and crime still regarded as major challenges preventing the relatively new democracy from achieving greatness. But there is hope that the ‘Madiba magic’ will not fade, and his legacy will live on

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” – Long Walk To Freedom