Zelda la Grange speaks to Ballito about Madiba’s inclusive South Africa

Zelda la Grange (affectionately nicknamed Zeldina by Madiba) was transformed by her years with President Mandela from being a deeply conservative Afrikaans white woman (she herself admits voting for the National Party) into an advocate for everything that the revolutionary leader stood for.

The dynamic speaker was addressing a packed Katmandu restaurant in Ballito last Friday at a breakfast for the Hanna charity and development foundation, run by Ballito resident and celebrity Hanna Grobler, wife of musician Bok van Blerk.

La Grange had the audience on the edge of their seats as she shared anecdotes from her 19 years at the right hand of the Struggle icon, where she served in various capacities from 1994 until his death in 2013.

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When she first started working in the President’s office as a typist she said she was terrified of the President (or terrorist as he was then called by her father).

But her attitude to her work and punctuality got her noticed by Madiba and she was one of his three private secretaries.

One day he invited her to join a diplomatic envoy abroad. She was completely taken aback and everyone in the group was asking (in whispers loud enough for her to hear) why Zelda had been included.

Only when Madiba introduced her to the president – it was his custom to introduce each member of his staff – as a real “boeremeisie” did the penny drop.

“Madiba had included me to show the world that everyone would be included in the new South Africa. I realised that would be my role and I embraced it.”

She dedicated her life to the inspirational father of the nation and over time became a travel companion, spokesperson, close confidante and honorary granddaughter.

La Grange portrayed Mandela as a man with exceptional compassion and understanding for others. He consistently treated even those who had wronged him and should have been considered his opponents or enemies with charm and respect.

The author of Good Morning, Mr Mandela said the statesman demonstrated how to forgive and how to love unconditionally but that it was up to each one of us as individuals to make his dream a reality.

“He taught us how to gain self-respect by maintaining our integrity and honesty. But, as he often said: ‘It is easier to change others than it is to change yourself.’ Unless we strive to become the nation that Mandela dreamed of, by changing ourselves first before we expect others to change, we will not live in a country where equality reigns. First and foremost, we have to be responsible for ourselves.”

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