The day Mandela was given the freedom of Tongaat

The small town of Tongaat gave Tata Madiba freedom a year before he was released from Robben Island prison in 1990.
The Tongaat Civic Association honoured one of the world’s greatest leaders President Nelson Mandela with a Freedom of Tongaat award in 1989. Mandela was still serving his treason sentence in Robben Island at that time but his second daughter Nandi came to Tongaat to accept the award on his behalf.
“Mandela came to Tongaat numerous times when he was still underground and hid from the police at Gopallal Hurbans sugar cane farm in Esenembe,” said Logie Naidoo, Ethekwini municipality speaker.
Gopallal Hurbans was a sugar cane farmer and vice-president of the Natal Indian Congress. He was also the chairman of the Natal Vigilance Committee which protested against the Group Areas Act.
Tongaat born Naidoo said the Tongaat Civic Association (TCA) wanted Mandela to know that he was welcomed in their town and “needed not to be afraid when he was there.”
After Mandela was elected as the first democratic president of South Africa in 1994, he went back to Tongaat to re-receive his Freedom of Tongaat award at the Tongaat Town Hall.
Naidoo, who presented the awards to Madiba, described that moment on October 21, 1994 as both exciting and emotional.
“The TAC was celebrating its 25th anniversary that day. I remember how the entire town came alive. It was one of our greatest moment in history,” said Naidoo.
Former TCA chairman Siva Narainsamy said Mandela was a gift to the world and this was evident by how he constantly preached about love and reconciliation and never about vengeance even after spending 27 years in prison.
Both Narainsamy and Naidoo said Madiba left huge shoes to fill but every South African must try and live by his teachings no matter how big or small their influence is.
“He was our modern day Mahatma Ghandi and now the world is looking for someone to walk on his footsteps,” concluded Naidoo.