Free from Apartheid -Why was Nelson Mandela called Madiba?

Why was Nelson Mandela called Madiba? Mandela says in his autobiography: “I am often addressed as Madiba, my clan name, as a sign of respect.” He said he was a member of the Madiba clan which was named after an eighteenth century Thembu tribe chief.  

 The Thembu are Bantu-speaking people who inhabit the upper reaches of the Mzimvubu River in Eastern province, South Africa. The Tembu speak a dialect of Xhosa, a Bantu language of the Nguni group that is closely related to Zulu.

Brittanica

Learn more about the Thembu people in Brittanica here.

When did apartheid end in South Africa

The election of the Nationalist Party in 1948 saw the beginning of a system of racial segregation, and with the harsh system of repression, years of violent struggle for freedom. Between 1990 and 1994 negotiations to rid South Africa of a brutal and unjust period in its history took place.

The ANC secured the release of Mandela and other political prisoners. In opposition to the Nationalist Party, weakened by years of international sanctions and growing people power, white minority rule was brought to and end and democracy came to South Africa.

Nelson Mandela’s crime

Nelson Mandela was arrested and jailed because he was accused of treason by the South African government. In 1944 he joined the African National Congress (ANC), which challenged the South African ruling party’s apartheid policies. He went on trial for treason in 1956-1961 and was acquitted in 1961. Mandela formed the military wing of the ANC, the Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), which went underground after the ANC was banned in 1960. He was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment with hard labour. When many leaders of the ANC and the MK were arrested for plotting to overthrow the government by violence, Nelson Mandela was also brought to stand trial with them, and he was one of eight accused that were sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Nobel prize

Madiba’s Prison

I looked across Table Bay to Robben Island every day for fifteen years, and I often thought of Nelson Mandela looking in the opposite direction from his prison cell. He plotted the downfall of apartheid and freedom for South Africa from the island.

There must have been many occasions when he could have given up the struggle gracefully. But he had the courage of his convictions, and I doubt it ever entered his head. If it did, I suspect, it would have been a short visitation. In 1990 he was released from prison with the overwhelming support of the Nation. He had also gained the admiration and trust of his adversaries.

History will rank him as one of the great men of all time. A man of immense courage, intelligence, compassion, understanding and humility.

When Madiba passed away

When Nelson Mandela died in 2013, it was an unparalleled event in the history of South Africa. The end of an era marked the eventual freedom of its peoples from oppression and violence. And it was influenced to a great extent by the man known as Madiba.

He was a true freedom fighter in the same mould as Ghandi, Martin Luther King and Che Guevara, a beacon of hope for the oppressed and a saviour of the oppressors. Like other great men and women, he dedicated his life to others and showed us all there is a way to live together in peace and harmony. He knew that without an enemy there can be no fight. No-one can argue alone.

Remembering Nelson Mandela

After his death, there were myriad celebrations of his life of immense proportions in all corners of South Africa. Homes, stadiums, cities and the townships partied till they dropped. Mandela will not be forgotten.

South Africa will make sure of that.

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