Let Freedom Reign by Henry Russell

Author:Henry Russell [Russell, Henry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Africa, South, Republic of South Africa
ISBN: 9781607652212
Google: bZIdEAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Fox Chapel Publishing
Published: 2010-01-29T16:08:10+00:00

Chapter 3

Release and Triumph

(1990–94)

During the next phase of his life, Nelson Mandela went from the extraordinary position of prisoner to president. At the start of it he was known as ‘No. 46664’; at the end of it he was ‘Madiba’, the respectful form of address to members of his clan. Many people thought that the transition would be unendurably traumatic for a man in his 70s but, after an uncertain start, Mandela rose to new heights and revelled in his triple role as politician, statesman and, much to his surprise and delight, superstar. The rapid ascent is well reflected in his speeches of this period, which begin with an understandably hesitant performance on the day of his release and end with the triumph of his inauguration.

On 2 February 1990, F.W. de Klerk (b. 1936), who succeeded P.W. Botha as President of South Africa in September 1989, lifted the ban on the ANC and other proscribed opposition organizations and thus commenced the dismantling of apartheid. At a meeting eight days later, de Klerk and Mandela agreed that the latter would be released the following afternoon.

Mandela and his advisers gave much thought to how and where he should spend the night of his release: this was not just the end of one man’s sentence; it was the start of a new chapter in the history of a nation.

At 3.30 p.m. on 11 February 1990, after 27½ years – 10,000 days – in jail, Nelson Mandela walked out of the front gates of Victor Verster Prison (now Drakenstein Correctional Centre) in Paarl, Western Cape Province. His wife, Winnie, was with him.

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