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Top 10 Facts about Nelson Mandela

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Nelson Mandela was the first black African President of South Africa from 1994-1999. He only served as president for one term.

He is well known for being part of the movement that fought to put an end to apartheid in South Africa.

Growing up, Nelson Mandela was determined to make his own contribution to the freedom struggle of his people since he was a young boy.

As a politician and a social rights activist, Mandela got involved in human right activism while in the University College of Fort Hare and was expelled for taking part in a protest.

Here are 10 Facts about Nelson Mandela.

1. Nelson Mandela Lived up to his Name

Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, Mvezo, South Africa. His full name was Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. He was later refered to as  Madiba his clan name.

Rolihlahla is a Xhosa name meaning troublemaker. He took part in the anti-apartheid movement to end racial segregation that was enforced in law in South Africa.

His father was Nkosi Mphakanyiswa Gadla Mandela and his mother was Nonqaphi Nosekeni,  she was the third wife.

His father worked as a principal counselor to the Acting King of the Thembu people, Jongintaba Dalindyebo.

His English name Nelson was given to him by his head teacher. School going children were given Christian names. It was easier for the colonialists to pronounce.

2. Nelson Mandela, lawyer and political activist

Photo by Gregory Fullard on Unsplash

Nelson Mandela studied law at the University of the Witwatersrand where he excelled in the qualification exam to become a lawyer. He graduated in 1943.

In 1944, Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC), a black-liberation group, as a youth league leader.

He doubled in other leadership positions in the party in advocating for the abolishment of apartheid policies.

Together with Oliver Tambo, a fellow leader in ANC, they opened the first black owned law firm in South Africa in 1952. They took on apartheid legislation cases.

During this time, Mandela took on a countrywide campaign to garner support for a non-violent protest against the discriminatory laws that grossly affected black South Africans.

In 1955, Mandela was part of the team that drafted the Freedom Charter, a document that sought to put an end to racial discrimination and embracing social democracy in South Africa.

3. Nelson Mandela spent 18 years in Solitary Imprisonment

Maximum Security Prison, Robben Island

Nelson Mandela was imprisoned from 1962 to 1990 for treason and conspiracy against the government.

He was sentenced to life in prison, but was released early when the ANC became legal again.

He spent 18 years in Robben Island prison, and 9 years Pollsmoor Prison in Tokai, Cape Town. The conditions were better in Cape Town.

4. Nelson Mandela the Master of Disguise

In June 1961, Mandela went incognito after a government crackdown on the people that organized and took part in a peaceful campaign for non-cooperation with the government.

He spent months hiding in disguise as a houseboy, and a caretaker in a farm in Rivonia.

In 1962, Nelson Mandela was invited to the Pan-African Freedom Movement Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  There was one problem.

Mandela had been banned by the then South African government from crossing the borders.

The Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie secretly granted him an Ethiopian passport with the name David Motsamayi, a journalist. This name was of one of Mandela’s  clients at the law firm.

In that period after a surprise appearance at the conference, he went for a military training in Algeria then headed to London and met with leaders of the British opposition party.

5. Nelson Mandela was on the United States terrorist watch list for 47 years

During the Cold War, the President of the United States Ronald Reagan regarded Nelson Mandela as a terrorist and had him put on the terrorist watch list.

President Reagan was not alone, former U.K Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher considered him as close minded and that the ANC was made up of terrorists and communists.

President Reagan was quoted saying in 1986 that the South African government was not obligated to negotiate a future of the country with communist organizations (ANC) that used terrorism and violence.

His name was removed from the terrorist watch list in 2008.

6. Nelson Mandela’s favorite dish was  umphokoqo and amasi

Nelson Mandela was a man with a simple palette. While in prison, he wrote to his wife Winnie telling her how he missed amasi (fermented milk) and umphokoqo.

Umphokoqo is a traditional summer dish, common to the Xhosa people.

It’s a type of crumbly pap made of maize meal simmered in water. Once cooked, the porridge is left to cool down and served with sour milk poured over it.

Mandela once asked his personal chef to ship this favorite meal to London when he was on a presidential trip.

7. Nelson Mandela participated in the fight against HIV/AIDS in South Africa

HIV/AIDS deaths and infections were on the rise in South Africa in the early 90s when Mandela took up the leadership of the country.

In 1998, 2.9 millions South Africans had been infected with the virus.

Nelson Mandela’s only son Makgatho, died of HIV/AIDS in 2005 aged 54.

This loss pushed the former president even further in supporting public health campaigns aimed at pushing for the prevention of the virus.

8. Nelson Mandela, Husband, Father, and Grandfather

Image sourced from Wikimedia Commons

Nelson Mandela tied the knot with his first wife Evelyn Mase in 1944. Prior to getting married, he and his cousin ran away from home after they were forced to marry.

Mandela and Evelyn had four children; their second child died after nine months. They were married for 13 years and divorced in 1958, after which Mandela married Winnie, a 22-year old at the time.

Mandela and Winnie had two other children. They spent at least five years together before Mandela was arrested and imprisoned for 27 years.

They separated in 1992, two years after Mandela’s walk to freedom.

On his 80th birthday, Mandela married his third wife, a former first lady of a neighboring country Mozambique, Graca Machel.

They remained married until his death in 2013.

9. Nelson Mandela voted for the first time aged 76 

Prior to 1994, most black South Africans did not participate in the democratic election of their leaders.

The 1994 election in South Africa saw an avalanche of black voters come out to cast their vote for the first time.

More than 17 million black voters aged 18 year and above took part in the democratic election.

It was that year that Nelson Mandela also voted for the first time. He was also democratically elected as the first black South African president.

10. Unlike most African Leaders, Nelson  Mandela served as a one-term president

Mandela took over as South Africa’s president on 10, May 1994. The country’s Constitution allowed a sitting president 2 terms, each with five years.

Unlike most sitting African presidents, Mandela did not make any attempts to amend the Constitution to his favor.

Mandela left office on 14 June 1999 and peacefully handed power to Thabo Mbeki. Although Mandela retired from active politics, he engaged in a number of philanthropic activities.

Mandela died on December 5, 2013, at the age of 95 in his home in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was accorded a state funeral that global leaders attended.  He was buried in his rural home in Qunu, South Africa.