A hero to a nation, former South African president Nelson Mandela has passed away this evening at his home in Johannesburg.
A life that was the definition of inspirational ended tonight. Nelson Mandela, whose battle to rid South Africa of the scourge of apartheid inspired the world, died peacefully tonight at his home, surrounded by his family.
Born in 1918 into the Thembu royal family, Mandela studied law and once the segregationist and racist policies of apartheid were introduced to South Africa in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) to fight the laws.
In 1962, after he formed a more militant group to battle the unfairness in his country, he was charged with treason and sentenced to life in prison.
Madiba, as he was known to the nation, spent 27 years behind bars, chiefly in the harsh Robben Island prison. While there, he came to symbolise the struggle against apartheid and he was eventually released in 1990. His release from prison was a global event and within four years he had managed to get the apartheid laws repealed and became the new leader of a democratic South Africa. It was a remarkable achievement.
The first black president of South Africa, his forgiveness of his captors, who he formed a government of national unity with, was truly inspiring and he won every imaginable international honour, from the Nobel Peace Prize (1993) to the Freedom of Dublin (1990).
Even though he ‘retired’ in 1999, he remained South Africa’s most important figure and a major international voice on global issues.
In 2004 he announced he was retreating from public life and while his public appearances reduced, his standing as a hero and icon, home and abroad, remained.
Taken ill six months ago, he was discharged from hospital in September to return to his home, where he passed away tonight.
A truly remarkable man, his loss will be a national tragedy for South Africa, while the rest of the world will also feel great loss tonight.
Current president Jacob Zuma summed it up best tonight: “He is now resting. He is now at peace,” Zuma said. “Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father.
“What made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human. We saw in him what we seek in ourselves.”
RIP Nelson Mandela
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