JOHANNESBURG- In the past few years there is a growing debate on whether former president Nelson Mandela was a sell out during the transition to democracy and during his presidency, critics saying he continued to choose capitalism and white monopoly over the majority of the people, maintaining the status quo.
Madiba gave 67 years of life to the struggle against apartheid, spent 27 years in Robben Island in prison, away from his loved ones and earned the title ‘father of the nation.’
He was father of six children an grandfather to 18, his first granddaughter Ndileka Mandela remembers his humor and humility, she said,
” The man that was full of jokes, the man that I could tease from time to time about his vanity, about being close to his mother – but above all he was a man that I remember as having the utmost simplicity and humility.
“Granddad was a simple man at heart, he just loved simple things and being with his people and being with his family.
She did admit that was painful when Madiba’s critics call him a sellout.
“I feel like when people are seeking relevance or cannot deal with their own shortcomings, they take a shot at him because he is no longer there to defend himself.”
She did say the criticism hurts, “It really stings, especially in light of what he sacrificed, this is a person who couldn’t bury his mother, couldn’t bury his son – who was my father – couldn’t bury one of his sister’s that died while he was in prison.”
Ndileka added, “So he sacrificed a lot for people to come and say that and not take it into the context of what was happening during that time.
Photo Credit – 702
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