Nelson Mandela by Steffano

Nelson Mandela

On February 11th 1990 Nelson Mandela walked out of prison for the first time in 27 years! The world gazed in amazement as this man who once was a little boy born with the name Rolihlahla meaning troublemaker in Xhosa became the first black president. This is his story.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born on July 18^th 1918. He was born into the Thembu tribe one of many tribes that makes up the Xhosa nation. His father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa was the tribe chief and teached him to become a brave Xhosa boy, it is said Nelson Mandela had four mothers who had thirteen children in total (four boys and nine girls) He was born in the little village of Mvezo located in the Umtata district, however shortly after his birth they moved to the nearby village of Qunu. He got his surname Mandela, which came from the king Mandela who was the father of his grandfather.

When he was seven he became the first in his family to go to school, his father thought that at least one of his children should have a decent education. His first school was set up by Europeans who wanted to spread Christianity. Their teacher thought that they should all have their own English names since the English ruled their country at the time so she gave him the name Nelson which seemed to be a very bizarre name to him.

At the age of nine his father grew ill with tuberculosis and died. His mother sent Nelson to live with his uncle Jongintaba (nicknamed Jongi) who ruled a large part of Xhosa, in addition he was very rich and wealthy, he even had a motor car (extremely modern at the time) he had an elder son named Justice, he and Nelson made great friends they rode horses together and ploughed Jongi’s fields together. When he was sixteen uncle Jongi sent him to Clarkebury Boarding school three years later he went to Healdtown the biggest school for Africans in the country, he finished all his studies here.

At the age of 21 he attended Fort Hare University for black students in the Eastern Cape; he met many people from many different tribes. One such was a man called Oliver Tambo they didn’t know it but they were to be very important in each other’s lives. After University he and Justice returned home to uncle Jongi, he had big plans for Nelson and Justice, they were to be married with two beautiful women that uncle Jongi had chosen, but he and Justice did not want to be married, so they ran away to Johannesburg which was over 700 kilometers away! Once they came there they were amazed by all the buildings and expensive cars there, but they were disappointed when they found out that all this belonged to the white people, most of the black people where very poor. Segregation was everywhere this meant that black people did not have the same rights as white people, most of the shops, restaurants and even toilets were labeled with a big sign saying either Whites Only! (For the white people) or Colored (for black people) Nelson hated this, racism was also common in Johannesburg, this was not what Nelson had expected. He and Justice settled down in a small primitive town just outside the city called Alexandra, it had no electricity or running water but it became home to them. However Justice did not stay long as he heard that uncle Jongi had died and he needed to take over his possessions.  

He fell in love with a nurse called Evelyn Mase they had two sons and two daughters. Some months after this he was invited to a meeting by a good friend of his called Walter Sisilu, they discussed how the black people of south Africa were being treated, they then founded the ANC (African National Congress) he met Oliver Tambo again. Sadly he and Evelyn soon parted, but he stayed close to his two sons. Then in 1944 they formed a protest and thousands of black South Africans marched across the streets. During the time he fell in love again with a social worker called Winnie Madikizela they had two daughters. The ANC secretly formed a military and ran into the streets barking mad, the police took sudden action and killed 69 people and injured many more. The ANC was strictly banned after this. Mandela fled the country with a fake passport and ID and called himself David Motsamayi. When he returned to South Africa the police were searching desperately for Nelson Mandela so he went into exile. A few months later he was found, he and eight other members were arrested and had to spend five years in prison, however if they were found guilty they would be sentenced to death. In 1963 they went to court but were found guilty but instead of being sentenced to death they were sentenced life in prison. Nelson Mandela thought this was so terrible that he would rather have died.

The eight men were sent to Robben Island except Denis Goldberg who was the only white person, he was to go to another prison. Mandela’s cell was so tiny that if he lay down he could touch the two opposite walls. He was given a dirty blanket to sleep on and a rusty bucket for toilet. He was only allowed to write and receive two letters per year. And if it was something the warden thought that he should not know about he would just throw it away. He was also only allowed two visitors a year. The hours felt like days and the weeks felt years. However in South Africa the black people started a campaign called Release Mandela which angered the government. Slowly the years went by 5, 10 and 20. Poor Nelson had no idea was happening in the outside world. Then one day president FW De Clerk saw that what Mandela was trying to do wasn’t that bad after all. So on 11^th February 1990 Nelson Mandela walked out of prison where he had spent 27 years of his life. The long walk to freedom was when he walked to the boat that would take him of the horrifying place. People all over the world were overwhelmed when they heard the 72 year old man was released.

Mandela was gladly welcomed into the South Africa he had not seen for 27 years. But most of all he saw his wife and children who were now all grown up! Some weeks later he met with President FW De Clerk to discuss plans for a new South Africa, where everyone was free, no matter what they looked like. In 1993 Mandela was awarded the Noble Peace Prize the following year he was voted President of South Africa. He was the first black President of South Africa and introduced many new anti racial rules. 62 per cent of the voters went for Mandela. He was president from 1994 to 1999. Currently he is still alive but ill since he is very old.

Throughout his life, Nelson Mandela achieved a lot; he shocked the world by his amazing spirit. He reduced segregation and selfishness across the planet. He is and will be truly remembered throughout history…

By Steffan Kunoy June 2011