Another prophetic poet, who I mentioned earlier on, was Keorapetse Kgositsile. Then, suddenly, he was gone, after a short illness. The second event was the birth of my grandniece, Chloe. He was meticulous in ensuring that an archive of his life would be made as accessible and as comprehensively as possible. The collections housed at the Nelson Mandela Foundation, vast as they might be, are by no means able to present him in sum, however, this man who towered above his contemporaries at home and abroad.
His gaolers tried to force the bitter destiny of the Book of Job on him: His remembrance shall perish from the earth and he shall have no name on the street. To no avail. The concluding lines from Departure From the Isle of Torments by the late former South African poet laureate, Mazisi Kunene, capture the essence of that long journey of a man whose intellect and emotion — head and heart — were the essential qualities for the management of a most trying transition.
Kunene writes:. For one, the isolation of prison, the enforced hibernation, became a refresher course in survival. The media, print and broadcast, was awash with a face that had become as ubiquitous as spring air — and as revitalising.
Old black-and-white pictures flickered across screens: Mandela in a group photo as a year-old student at Healdtown Comprehensive School; in a portrait wearing traditional attire; in , standing next to Ruth First at an ANC conference in Bloemfontein; in , singing among fellow accused at the marathon Treason Trial in Pretoria; a bearded Mandela bulked up by army fatigues, standing with Algerian Army commanders in Across the globe, television sets beam contrasting images of a youngish Mandela in his jackal-skin kaross worn toga-like as he strides defiantly in slow motion during his trial for leaving the country without a passport and inciting a strike.
He was sentenced on 7 November to five years in prison. There are many more, a catalogue of the various incarnations he has had to pass through. The most enduring images, however, are of Mandela as a free man, a man who embodied freedom with such assuredness that it became synonymous with his name. In all this, the making of Mandela the symbol can be credited to the regime that threw him in prison.
In Nelson Mandela handed power to Thabo Mbeki, who served as South Africa's second democratically elected president. The presidency of the ANC is held in high esteem for the simple reason that it confers on the incumbent the stewardship of the National Executive Committee, a council that could, if need be, bring about a resignation of the state president.
Ndebele observes that a leader,. For Mandela, leadership was mainly about advancing the cause of others, because he understood how they — especially strangers in neighbouring countries who suffered untold misery in sanctions and cross-border raids launched by the South African military — had paid a huge price.
These are men and women, known and unknown, who have declared total war against all forms of gross violation of human rights wherever in the world such excesses occur. Therefore, when he was in various circumstances required to comment on the leadership in, say, the Southern African Development Community, he stressed the importance of serious planning for regional growth and development.
These were not mere words or the rehearsed platitudes that characterise speeches in summits; coming from a generation of hard idealists who had grown up in the principle of a united Africa, Mandela believed that the current crop of leadership could turn the tide against poverty and inequality in the region.
None of us can achieve sustainable growth and development, or peace and stability, in isolation. Today, as South Africa and the world gear up to celebrate the centenary of his birth, the inevitable question comes up: What would our country be like if Mandela had not stepped into the breach to assume leadership at a most perilous period of our history?
Aligned to this question is the subtext in current debates about the economy, where queries are being raised — oftentimes with a real purpose to elicit knowledge and sometimes with an aim of breaking down what is held to be the mystique around Mandela — about whether the negotiations in the early s were skewed against the black majority. Was the Mandela project a massive sell-out? Behind these unasked questions — one is helplessly forced to conclude — are justifications for the fancied sell-out: the old people were deferential to white counterparts on the negotiation table.
They were scared of the white man. Commentators tend to approach the debacle — the human tragedy — that characterised South Africa from its inception as a colonial construct to the present moment, where it struggles to integrate its discrete pieces into a coherent whole, much the same way sports fans do a post-match analysis.
Armed with the advantage of hindsight and instant replay technology, the analyst can reimagine, but never quite empathise with, what took place in the arena. The act of recreating the past is always subverted by the gaps lying between what has been experienced by the flesh-and-blood actors — the gruelling trial that informs their decisions — and our collective grasp of their actions long after the noise of battle has died down.
It is always tempting, when dealing with a venerated figure like Mandela, for commentators who wish to ascribe to him an unassailable saintliness to urge detractors to remember what it was like back then, meaning that, given the overwhelming odds stacked against him, it would be understandable if Mandela capitulated and quailed before his captors.
But all evidence points to a man who was single-mindedly steadfast in his quest to create a democratic and non-racial country of the future. The hardship was a temporary inconvenience, a time when he had to do the groundwork for a radical change, especially in the heady s when repression in the country increased, a sign that the regime was losing its grip. Or, put differently, if there was some residual inferiority to the white man roiling in the mind of leaders like Mandela.
Mandela gave an emphatic no, because, he said,. We cannot today realistically know what Mandela et al felt when faced with incarceration. We have his word and the testimony of his compatriots. We do know, however, that it was a grim period, which none of us, certainly not the children of the dispossessed, would wish to revisit.
What we can take from what we know about Mandela is that he strove to enshroud himself and those around him with dignity that makes it hard for the enemy to unravel. From their arrival in prison, he insisted on being addressed as Mr Mandela.
It is here, also, that his counter-intuitive stance towards leadership proved equal to the task: he defanged the right wing and brought it to be part of the negotiations towards a democratic future. Through the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which allowed for a long cathartic moment, violators of human rights stepped forth and owned up, thus ensuring some form of closure for their victims.
To use a crass metaphor, a father builds a house but cannot be blamed for the incapacity of his children to improve on the dwelling. He had many transgressions, some of which would convert into virtues, in the scheme of things.
Without verbalising it, he embodied what is credited to one-time president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos, that leadership is the other side of the coin of loneliness and that, acting alone, the leader must accept everything alone.
Mandela knew fully well that the ANC was viscerally opposed to the idea of talking to the regime. Aware of the hostility to those talks, which were dismissed as enemy manoeuvres, OR Tambo had to steer a cautious course. But the practicalities of the times — the ouster of the ANC from Mozambique, cross-border raids in neighbouring countries and the clamour of Umkhonto weSizwe fighters that they wanted to go home — coalesced into an acceptance of the reality of a negotiated settlement.
It would, of course, be accompanied by an intensification of armed actions inside the country. Isolated from his support network, watching the carnage against defenceless people being played out on the daily news bulletins, Mandela started tentative steps towards brokering a negotiated settlement. He had consulted Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada and Govan Mbeki about this intention — and was told in no uncertain terms that this was a very bad idea.
Despite organisational problems in exile, the party survived until it was unbanned together with other political organisations in February The PAC continues to exist as an opposition political party that is represented in parliament. PAC funds frozen: Report. A thin mat lay in the corner. It was stark. There was an unmistakable feeling I cannot quite explain throughout the entire cellblock. That day, I learned more about the many heroes who fought against apartheid. Some beaten. Some killed. Describing who he was and what he did is powerful.
I felt changed somehow. Motivated and inspired by an imperfect man, who suffered for his dreams and yet never lost hope. Aspiring leaders everywhere should take the time to study this man, his accomplishments, and the characteristics that helped mold a country and the world. Join thousands of subscribers in the Leadership Insights community for a regular diet of ideas to fuel your success. He only worked for the betterment of his people and never hesitated to sacrifice. Nelson Mandela had some powerful and impactful leadership qualities.
He always spoke the truth: Everyone expects accuracy and validity from a leader, and Nelson Mandela was just like that. He never lied even if the truth hurt his own followers. He firmly accepted that his followers are engaged in murder and violence. Mandela was known for preaching truth no matter how bitter that was. He wanted to ensure peace, and he believed only unity could bring that. He always sacrificed: A leader never hesitates to sacrifice for the betterment of his people and reach a goal.
Nelson Mandela was exactly like that. Even though he had the chance to be free, he chose to sacrifice for these people. He was an eager learner: Mandela never underestimated the power of knowledge. He believed it opens new doors for a man, and a man must explore those to move forward in life.
Even in later life, he never felt ashamed to learn from his followers or anyone. He was always humble. He was a positive thinker: It takes a lot of patience to struggle and face numerous challenges while also having a positive mindset.
Mandela was a powerful and influential leader. He had lots of admirable leadership qualities that are still gets recommended by others.
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