Mandela is still an iconic symbol of moral greatness – part one

At about 23:50 on Thursday night I received a phone call from a Pretoria-based journalist. With a somber voice, the journalist relayed this message to me: “President Jacob Zuma had just informed the nation that our former president Nelson Mandela has passed on.”

Our short conversation ended when I hung up the phone. Consequently, the only dominant thought on my mind was: Our iconic Mandela is no more.

Mandela is one of the most noble and highly inspirational leaders who ever graced our earth.

The infallibility of his stature is amazingly unbelievable.

Madiba’s moral greatness lies beneath his revered simplicity. His intellect was as sharp as the blasting waves of the ocean. The humbling courage of his humanity was as reassuring as the summer sunrise. His ability to rise above vengeance and retribution was truly unearthly.

Mandela epitomised the triumph of human spirit over societal hardships. He endured and persisted against all odds and in the face of tremendous adversity.

His long walk to freedom was marked by a myriad of personal setbacks and difficulties. The monster of apartheid tried in vain to paralyze his spirit and courage.

A day after Mandela’s passing, I posed this question to my colleagues: Who do you think are the five most influential people in all human history?

We discussed that question for three hours and came to a conclusion. The five most influential people in all history are: Jesus Christ, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa and Albert Einstein. These icons have immensely redefined the global discourse of human relations and knowledge.

Just like Jesus Christ, Mandela preached the gospel of love, equality and social harmony. Madiba was neither a saint nor an angel, but he was an extraordinary moral giant.

In the early 1940s he dreamt of a future democratic South Africa and fearlessly pursued that dream. The apartheid regime imprisoned him for 27 years for a crime he never committed.

Is it really a crime to ask for freedom, equality and democracy in your country?

Apartheid was exclusively designed to suppress, humiliate and brutalize black people. It was an ultra-racist method of discrimination that was modeled on fascism and Nazism.

Elvis Masoga

Political analyist