Nelson Mandela and former second deputy president FW de Klerk hold their hands high before a huge crowd after the first presidential inauguration on May 10, 1994. Picture: Juda Ngwenya/Reuters

July 2018 marks Nelson Mandela’s centenary year: he would have turned 100 today. Why is he still so revered across the world? The answer simply is that he is widely regarded as the personification of values which he spent much of his life fighting for. These included social justice, democracy and freedom.

At the Rivonia Trial in 1964, he asserted that it was these values for which he hoped to live, but for which he was prepared to die. He would spend 27 years in prison before he could realise his dream of a South Africa freed from brutal racial segregation.

In prison, Mandela’s stature and mythology were carefully nurtured by his movement, the ANC, and the anti-apartheid movement. This established him as the focus for the global Struggle against apartheid.

By the 1980s, Mandela was the world’s most famous political prisoner. He was celebrated at rallies, featured on protest posters and immortalised in popular culture.

Mandela’s conviction and adherence to non-racialism and democratic ideals came to symbolise the intrinsic moral nature of the Struggle against white minority rule.


Mandela commanded respect and moral authority at home and abroad for his strong convictions, humility and courageous actions that ensured all South Africans could live in a democratic society. These achievements in the face of enormous challenges should not be underestimated.

As South Africa’s first democratic president he put a clear emphasis on transformation for the majority. This came about through political action under the slogan “a better life for all”, the introduction of a progressive and liberal constitution,




Is criticism of Mandela fair?

First of all, it’s deeply unfair and highly problematic to lay South Africa’s current travails on one person. Part of this problem stems from the perception that Mandela single-handedly delivered freedom for South Africa and led the negotiation process. This is simply not true. And the “single story” is a disservice to the multitude of organisations and activists that fought apartheid, including the ANC, the Black Consciousness Movement, trade unions and the United Democratic Front.


The ANC should certainly have pushed for more concessions. In reality, the party effectively sacrificed wider economic and social change for political power.

It is the lack of substantive change enacted during the transition that has prompted the emerging re-evaluation of Mandela’s legacy.


Most important of all, 1994 was not supposed to be the final stage for transformation. Rather, it was a platform for future efforts. But the ANC has not succeeded in doing enough to initiate wider societal transformation since 1994 based on the unfinished business of the negotiations.


In addition, the ANC appears to have lost its sense of direction. The political elite has been badly mired in scandals, most notably under the former presidency of Jacob Zuma.

There is no doubt Mandela was a complex and flawed individual, but his vision still matters. What is required in this centenary year is for people from all sections of society to work together to embody Mandela’s values and convictions, to keep the country moving forward to overcome the deeply ingrained legacies and injustices of the past. – The Conversation