Mandela - The African Mirror

Jun

20

2024

Mandela’s protégé Ramaphosa on the cusp of securing his legacy

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa was spot-on when he said during his inauguration as democratic South Africa’s 5th president: “Today is no ordinary day.” That summed up the totality of the wide-ranging complex themes and sub-themes in the lead-up to his inauguration. It was a ceremony that could have easily eluded him. Having managed a mere 40% in the May 29 elections, President Ramaphosa has been typically humble and respectful of the electorate. Just as he said at the Gallagher Estate in Midrand when he delivered his speech of acceptance of the results - and the entire election process conducted by the…

Sep

28

2023

By The African Mirror

“Let us honour Aziz Pahad by continuing with struggle for justice, equality”

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THABO MBEKI AZIZ Pahad was a profoundly humane human being, with a sunny, compassionate, and humorous character. He was born in 1940, in Schweizer-Reneke in the North-West Province, to a family of political activists. His upbringing was profoundly shaped by the indomitable spirit of his family, particularly his mother, herself a stalwart in the fight against Apartheid. In the book, “uMama: Reflections of South African Mothers and Grandmothers”, compiled and edited by Marion Keim, Aziz remarks about his mother, “she taught me that we were all part of one big family simply by virtue of being human and by virtue…

Jul

21

2022

By The African Mirror

Ford celebrates Mandela’s legacy with a donation of shoes, bags to 1 150 learners

MOTORING

FORMER South African president Nelson Mandela dedicated his life to fighting for freedom, and was committed to using education as a tool to empower and uplift people. Madiba’s legacy continues to inspire others around the world, across South Africa, as well as in and around his home village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape. Accordingly, it’s fitting that, on Mandela Day on 18 July – and as part of the wider Mandela Month celebrations – his grand daughter Ndileka Mandela and her Thembekile Mandela Foundation partnered with Ford South Africa by donating school shoes and bags to 1 150 learners at…

Jul

13

2020

By The African Mirror

Gallery: Zindzi Mandela

MULTIMEDIA

ZINDZISWA “ZINDZI” MANDELA: 23 December 1960 - 13 July 2020. A picture says a thousand words. Captured in these images are memories of Zindzi, who many South Africans remember as a comrade, a mother, a grandmother, a sister, a cousin or a simply, a woman of her time, born into the struggle against apartheid.

Jul

19

2020

By The African Mirror

U.N. chief to world leaders: ‘Inequality starts at the top’

NEWS

MICHELLE NICHOLS U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has accused world powers of ignoring inequality in global institutions but said the coronavirus pandemic has created a "generational opportunity" to build a more equal, sustainable world. Delivering the annual lecture for the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Guterres pushed for a so-called New Global Deal to ensure power, wealth and opportunity are shared more broadly and fairly at the international level. "The nations that came out on top more than seven decades ago have refused to contemplate the reforms needed to change power relations in international institutions," Guterres said. "The composition and voting rights in…

Jul

17

2020

By The African Mirror

Zindzi Mandela buried next to her mom and grandchildren

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER FRIENDS of the late struggle activist and diplomat Zindziswa "Zindzi" Mandela-Hlongwane held red roses and her coffin was carried over a red carpet in a poignant, emotional and dignified final farewell to her. Zindzi, who died this week, was buried today next to her mother, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and her two grandchildren Zinawe and Zenani after a private funeral service at the Fourways Memorial Garden in Johannesburg. Zindzi was the youngest daughter of liberation icons Madikizela-Mandela and the great Nelson Mandela. She was buried a day before what would have been her father’s 102nd birthday. Her family disclosed…

Jul

16

2020

By The African Mirror

“My last meeting with Zindzi Mandela”

NEWS

THAMI KA PLAATJE AT a recent international conference at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, I had an occasion to reunite with Sis Zindzi. She was in the company of her amiable and jovial elder sister Zenani and we took to the remote corner to share our thoughts far from the ambassadorial glee and diplomatic loquaciousness of the conference. This was our first encounter since the passing of Mama Winnie Madikizela Mandela, and the occasion called for some long catch-up and chit -chat albeit within the limited time allowed by the rigours of the conference underway. Zindzi bemoaned the…

Jul

27

2020

By The African Mirror

Down memory lane with the departure of the backroom boy, Bab’ Umlangeni

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

KHULU MBATHA FLASHBACK: We met acting president-general of the ANC, Oliver R Tambo, for the first time in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania in 1976. We, fresh from South Africa, still carrying scratches and cuts on our bodies all sustained during the stone-throwing confrontations with policemen and armed SADF personnel. Seating underneath the shade of a big Kigelia, the sausage tree, the new arrivals were making a meal out of Tambo’s presence and bombarding him with so many questions about the struggle. What have you been doing in the past [since the banning of the organisation] 16 years? Where was the ANC when…

Sep

17

2020

By The African Mirror

A “remarkable human being” – the legendary human rights lawyer who defended Mandela – laid to rest

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER WARM tributes have been paid to the legendary South African human rights lawyer George Bizos, who has been laid to rest at the Heroes Acre at Johannesburg's West Park Cemetery after an official, simple and yet dignified funeral service. Bizos, 92, who defended Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and many other political activists, passed away a week ago. He was a towering figure in legal and political circles in South Africa, was also a central and respected figure in the Hellenic community in Johannesburg, where he was affectionately called “Papou George” (Grandfather George). His funeral service, an official…