Nelson Mandela - Life and Legacy

The world learned of the news that the great South African freedom fighter turned President, Nelson Mandela had passed away following an extended period of poor health. This edition of The Clog will assess his life and legacy.

It was expected that Mandela’s life would be working as an advisor to a tribal king and his education was geared towards this end through going to a good private school then taking a Law degree. It was during his student years that he became politicised, citing the fact that it was a thousand petty injustices against his people that pushed him in that direction.

He showed enterprise in setting up a Legal practice with Oliver Tambo and this was overwhelmed with work from the black community in Johannesburg. His legal expertise helped to make him a prominent figure in the African National Congress (ANC) and was also put to good use during the time when the ANC was outlawed, with regular banning orders issued to key people. He was also one of a small group of ANC people put on trial for treason, with proceedings lasting for several years before the charges melted away. Following this trial, he went into hiding for an extended period of time before being caught and put on trial in a new treason trial that would cost him freedom for 27 years.

Mandela was something of a totem pole for the left wing elements of the political spectrum. He was very well read in the works of Marx. It would be simplistic to consider him to have Communist leanings but was arguably an early exponent of “big tent” politics that modern centre left leaders like Tony Blair practiced. His vision was to have an African style of capitalism that may require some nationalised industries but create a climate where people could have the freedom to set up their own businesses and trade. During his stirring closing speech in the Rivonia trial of 1963-64, he spoke of his respect for parliamentary democracy, citing the UK parliament and US Congress as models of government that he respected. He was eventually released in 1990 follow a great amount of international pressure.

A ground breaking moment occurred in 1993 when he and F W De Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This cemented his journey from outlaw to international statesman. One of the more poignant moments in his first autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, he spoke of the feeling of being able to cast a vote for the first time in his life at 75 years old, mentioning that it felt like people like Oliver Tambo and Bram Fischer, who had died in the struggle for democratic freedom in South Africa, were with him in spirit in the voting booth.

After being voted in as president, Mandela formed a coalition government of national unity that was meant to represent all of the people of the country. He was keen to stress that he saw the diverse ethnic groups of the nation as one people marching together into the future. This was in contrast to the more militant influences who spoke of driving the whites into the sea.

Mandela’s presidency was arguably greater for its symbolism than its economic and social achievements. Arguably, one of its most iconic moments was he presented the South Africa captain, Francois Pienaar with the Rugby World Cup in 1995 when the nation hosted and won the tournament. President Mandela wore a Springboks jersey and cap at the presentation rather than the formal attire usually worn by dignitaries.

 

There was some difficult circumstances faced by the Mandela administration including massive unemployment and 20% of the population living below the poverty line. He did adopt liberal economic policies and attract foreign investment.

Some criticisms of his time in office included a perceived softness on corruption scandals and not enough emphasis on combatting the scourge of HIV/AIDS that had ravaged the African continent. The latter of these were more robustly addressed after Mandela left office, he addressed a conference in 2000 and noted that Aids is wiping out the development gains of past decades and sabotaging the future, calling attention on something to be done as a matter of urgency and noting that history would judge harshly otherwise. His philanthropy work outwith political office arguably had a greater impact on helping the disadvantaged than when he held the presidency.

Following Mandela’s passing, the current South African president, Jacob Zuma, said that South Africa had lost its greatest son and the people have lost a father. He is often considered as something of a saint, noting in his second autobiography, Conversations with Myself:

“One issue that deeply worried me in prison was the false image I unwittingly projected to the outside world; of being regarded as a saint. I never was one, even on the basis of an earthly definition of a saint as a sinner who keeps trying."

His pilgrimage through life arguably took a similar route to patriarchal figures in Old Testament history like Moses who became concerned for the welfare of exiled Israelites after a cushioned upbringing, then went through the hot-headed firebrand stage to distinguished elder statesman.

Nelson Mandela’s commitment to the struggle to racial equality came at great personal cost but his perseverance and ability to endure in the face of oppression helped to break the dreadful Apartheid structures that shackled a nation’s hopes and dreams. Crucially, his legacy of forgiveness and willingness to work with the people who imprisoned him are a shining testament of the biblical commandment to love thy neighbour. It is now up to the South African people of all ethnic groups to take continue to build on those foundations that were laid by Mandela to ensure a peaceful and prosperous future for all in the Rainbow Nation.