On this date in 1990, Nelson Mandela was released from prison
Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end South African apartheid was released from prison after 27 years on February 11, 1990.
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” – Nelson Mandela
In 1944, Mandela, a lawyer, joined the African National Congress (ANC), the oldest black political organization in South Africa, where he became a leader of Johannesburg’s youth wing of the ANC. In 1952, he became deputy national president of the ANC, advocating nonviolent resistance to apartheid–South Africa’s institutionalized system of white supremacy and racial segregation….
Nelson Mandela personifies struggle. He lead the fight against apartheid with extraordinary vigour and resilience after spending nearly three decades of his life behind bars. He sacrificed his private life and his youth for his people, and remains South Africa’s best known and loved hero.
Mandela held numerous positions in the ANC: ANCYL secretary (1948); ANCYL president (1950); ANC Transvaal president (1952); deputy national president (1952) and ANC president (1991).
Mandela matriculated at Healdtown Methodist Boarding School and then started a BA degree at Fort Hare. As an SRC member he participated in a student strike and was expelled, along with the late Oliver Tambo, in 1940. He completed his degree by correspondence from Johannesburg, did articles of clerkship and enrolled for an LLB at the University of the Witwatersrand…
In 1962 Mandela left the country for military training in Algeria and to arrange training for other MK members. On his return he was arrested for leaving the country illegally and for incitement to strike. He conducted his own defence. He was convicted and jailed for five years in November 1962. While serving his sentence, he was charged, in the Rivonia trial, with sabotage and sentenced to life imprisonment.
In prison Mandela never compromised his political principles and was always a source of strength for the other prisoners.
He was inaugurated as the first democratically elected State President of South Africa on 10 May 1994 – June 1999
Nelson Mandela retired from Public life in June 1999. He died on 5 December 2013 at his home in Houghton,
Source: South African News/Nelson Mandela/Education Ghana
What a legend! His spirit still lives on!
