Programme Director
Distinguished guests
Comrades and friends
Members of the Media

It is both an honour and privilege to be presenting thoughts on the legacy of our world-acclaimed statesman, Cde Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, in a place where the High Command of our People's Army, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) was situated. Liliiesleaf occupied a special place in the annals of our struggle against the abhorrent apartheid system and for freedom and democracy.

Hence just being here, let alone talking about a political giant and distinguished leader, brings fond memories about the commitment, sacrifices, resoluteness and selflessness of our forebears.

How apt that the organizers of this lecture opted for Liliiesleaf to reminisce about the legacy that has been left by cde Madiba who spent some time on this farm. Obviously, he was not here to farm but pretended to be a labourer whilst together with other ANC and Alliance leaders were advancing the struggle including commanding MK forces. I feel reenergized and ready to pursue with even more vigor the ideals that cde Madiba so passionately subscribed to and lived for whilst being prepared to die for. Cde Madiba was one of a kind.

Whilst humble, he was a fearless and selfless revolutionary that was prepared to lay down his life for our country and our people to be free. A gallant fighter that was inspired by patriots like Kgoshi Sekhukhune, Morena Moshoeshoe, iNkosi Sabata Dalindyebo, Hosi Ngungunyane and iNkosi Albert Luthuli who led wars of resistance against ruthless and blood-thirsty colonialists hell-bent to not only dispossess our people of their land but also strip them of their human dignity.

Cde Madiba always strived to unite our people, our country and our continent in his quest for world peace. As we celebrate his legacy, I believe that this is an opportune moment to look back in order to remind ourselves of who exactly is this cadre, leader, father, revolutionary and icon that the world came to adore and respect.

Born into a Royal Family in the village of Mveso, Transkei on the 18 July 1918, Madiba lost his father at an early age. Hearing the elders¹ stories of his ancestors¹ valour during the wars of resistance, Cde Madiba dreamed also of making his own contribution to the struggle for freedom. His dream of a better country, continent and world did not hinder him to pursue his other passion, education and this led him to the University College of Fort Hare where he studied for a Bachelor of Arts degree but could not complete his studies there as he was expelled for being involved in student protests.

Upon his return to the Great Place at Mqhekezweni, the King was furious and threatened him that should he not return to Fort Hare he would arrange wives for him and his cousin Justice. Being Madiba the rebel with a cause, Madiba the revolutionary and Madiba the visionary that the world came to admire, he sojourned Johannesburg in defiance of his uncle where he worked as a mine security officer and met Cde Walter Sisulu - an estate agent and activist - who introduced him to the African National Congress (ANC).

The challenges of relocation and political persecution could not dim his love and passion for education. Instead he was inspired to complete his BA through the University of South Africa (UNISA) and went back to Fort Hare for his graduation in 1943 this led to Cde O. R. Tambo and him establishing South Africa¹s first black law firm, Mandela & Tambo.

Humour was Madiba¹s disarming trademark. Hence, when he was unable to complete his LLB studies at the University of the Witwatersrand due to, amongst other reasons, political activism, he admitted publicly that he was a ³poor student². The humour of his statement became apparent when he obtained an LLB through the UNISA in 1989 whilst in the last months of his imprisonment. He graduated in absentia at a ceremony in Cape Town.

Cde Madiba, joined the African National Congress in 1944 when he helped to form the ANC Youth League (ANCYL). He was in the company of the ³Young Lions² of the time like Cdes Anton Lembede, Duma Nokwe, Walter Sisulu, O. R. Tambo amongst other young activists of the time and rose through the ranks of the ANCYL.

Through its efforts and programmes that injected radicalism within the ANC, the ANCYL nudged our movement to adopt a more radical mass-based policy, the Programme of Action and this was a game-changer in so far as the conduct of the struggle for freedom and democracy in our country was concerned.

In 1952 Cde Madiba was designated as the National Volunteer-in-Chief of the Defiance Campaign, a role he played with aplomb. This campaign of civil disobedience against six unjust laws was a joint programme between the ANC and the South African Indian Congress. Due to its impact and resounding success, Madiba and 19 other leaders were charged under the Suppression of Communism Act for their part in the campaign and sentenced to nine months of hard labour that was suspended for two years.

It was not surprising that at the end of 1952, the apartheid regime banned Madiba for the first time and this fascist act on the part of the regime led to him watching in secret as the Freedom Charter was adopted in Kliptown on 26 June 1955 albeit him galvanising support for the project.

Bannings, detentions and other forms of harassment notwithstansing, Cde Madiba continued to mobilise and organise our people against apartheid and colonialism. Hence, Cde Madiba was one of the leaders arrested in a countrywide police swoop on 5 December 1955, which led to the 1956 Treason Trial.

Courageous and fearless women and men of all races found themselves in the dock in the marathon trial that only ended when the last 28 accused, including Cde Madiba, were acquitted on 29 March 1961.

The relentless and heroic struggles of our people intensified to the extent of the fascist regime mowing down our people in Sharpeville on the
21 March 1960. When the apartheid police¹s guns went silent, 69 unarmed patriots in a protest in Sharpeville against the pass laws were left
dead.

Our people refused to surrender and their resolve and resoluteness led to our country being subjected to the first state of emergency and the banning of the ANC and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). Leaders of the ANC including Cde Madiba and his comrades in the Treason Trial were among thousands who did not escape the wrath of the regime and were detained during the state of emergency.

The undying, gallant and fearless spirit of Cde Madiba showed itself when days before the end of the Treason Trial, he travelled to Pietermaritzburg to speak at the All-in Africa Conference. At this historic conference of democrats, it was resolved that Cde Madiba should write to the apartheid Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd urging him to convene a national convention on a non-racial constitution.

Due to escalating repression, Cde Madiba, upon his and other comrades acquittal in the Treason Trial, went underground and began planning a national strike for 29, 30 and 31 March 1961. In the face of massive mobilisation of state security the strike was called off early. Given this further closing of the political space, Cde Madiba was mandated by the ANC leadership to lead the armed struggle and helped to establish Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), which was launched on 16 December 1961 with a series of explosions.

In January 1962, using the nom de guera David Motsamayi, Cde Madiba secretly left our country and travelled around Africa and also visited England using his Ethiopian passport to garner support for the armed struggle. He received military training in Morocco and Ethiopia and returned to our country in July 1962.

Cde Madiba was arrested in a police roadblock outside Howick on 5 August while returning from KwaZulu-Natal, where he had briefed Chief Albert Luthuli, ANC President at the time, about his trip. Cde Madiba was subsequently charged with leaving the country without a permit and inciting workers to strike. He was convicted and sentenced to five years' imprisonment.

Whilst serving time, the apartheid forces raided Liliesleaf, where we are tonight, where Cde Madiba¹s compatriots were arrested in 1963. On 9 October 1963 Mandela joined Cdes Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Denis Goldberg, Elias Motsoaledi and Andrew Mlangeni on trial for sabotage in what became known as the Rivonia Trial. Hell-bent on crushing the liberation movement, the apartheid criminal justice system on behalf of its political masters convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment the Rivonia Treason Trialists. Our leaders were sent to Robben Island to serve time.

Whilst recuperating from prostate surgery and in consultation with the ANC leadership, Cde Madiba initiated talks about an ultimate meeting between the apartheid regime and the ANC. Upon his release, Cde Madiba continued where he left off by amongst other efforts immersing himself in official talks to end racist minority rule.

He was elected the President of the ANC during the ANC¹s first National Conference after its unbanning, replacing his ailing friend and comrade and the longest serving ANC President, Cde O. R. Tambo. Due to his relentless efforts to find a peaceful solution in our country and fostering peace across the world, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. After successful negotiations and during the first democratic elections held in 27 April 1994, Cde Madiba voted for the first time in his life and was inaugurated as South Africa¹s first democratically elected President on
the 10 May 1994.

As the President of the ANC and the Republic, Cde Madiba championed reconciliation, forgiveness, nation-building and peace. He was unapologetic and resolute about his convictions and he became the beacon of hope for the downtrodden, the oppressed and the vulnerable in our country and across the globe.

True to his promise, Cde Madiba stepped down in 1999 after one term as President of the Republic. Even during his retirement and in the twilight of his years and inspired by his love for children, Cde Madiba continued to work with the Nelson Mandela Children¹s Fund he set up in 1995 and established the Nelson Mandela Foundation and The Mandela Rhodes Foundation to pursue other good causes. By the time he passé on, work was ongoing on building the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital and we are proud that it has now opened its doors to serve our children.

Cde Madiba never wavered in his devotion to democracy, freedom, non-racialism, equality and learning. Despite being incarcerated for 27 years and other indignities and violations visited on him, Cde Madiba never became vindictive. He was forgiveness and reconciliation personified. His life is an inspiration to all who are oppressed and deprived and to all who are opposed to oppression, injustice and deprivation.

Cde Madiba became known and respected all over the world as a symbol of the struggle against apartheid and all forms of racism; the icon and the hero of African liberation. Even prison bars could not prevent him from continuing to inspire his people to struggle and sacrifice for their liberation. He was the most popular leader the country has ever had. He had become "a living legend", galvanising our people to rise up against the inhumane system of apartheid.

Cde Madiba is a universal symbol of freedom and reconciliation, an icon representing the triumph of the human spirit. During his lifetime he not only dedicated himself to the struggle of the African people but with his humility and his spirit of forgiveness, he captured hearts and inspired people all over the world.

He was a true champion of non-racialism and reconciliation. Hence he dedicated his entire life to building non-racialism in our country and in pursuance of this ideal, he was prepared to fight both white and black domination.

He cared for the poor and downtrodden and did everything to improve their lot. As we confront the triple challenges of poverty, joblessness and inequality, we should be inspired by cde Madida's commitment to create a better life for all our people.

No matter how tempting it might be, let us not involve ourselves in or tolerate corruption as this amount to stealing from the poor. Corruption is a cancer that is eating away our social fabric and must be fought. We must do everything to ensure that government coffers serve the interests of all our people and not the greedy and corrupt few. We must also promote good governance so as to ensure that our government departments and SOEs are run efficiently and devoid of mediocrity, corruption and other malfeasances.

In honor of the rich legacy left by cde Madiba, we should also resist all efforts to capture our state, irrespective of who is involved. A high price was paid for our freedom and no one should be allowed to take it for granted. Hence, we support the establishment of a commission of enquiry into allegations of state capture and this should happen without undue delay so as those implicated must have an opportunity to clear their names.

We should also pursue radical economic transformation with more vigor to bring our people into the mainstream of our economy. Benefits should accrue to all not just a select few.

As we celebrate Madiba's life, let us remember those of our people who still are without a roof above their hands, those who are jobless, those who do not have access to clean water and decent sanitation and those who are still discriminated against.

We must also think about those children who are still forced to walk long distances, barefoot and on empty stomachs in pursuit of education. These are the people that Madiba cared for and struggled to make their lives better.

I thank you!