SOUTH AFRICA: Nelson Mandela turns 93

  1. Posted on Monday 18 July 2011 - 10:36
    accreporter
    Image of accreporter
    Kent Mensah, AfricaNews editor in Accra, Ghana
    One of Africa's illustrious sons and a celebrated peace icon Nelson Mandela dominates the headlines on Monday as he turned 93. The first post-apartheid president of South Africa was ushered into his birthday mood with a special song and sang simultaneously across the country by millions of school children during their assembly period.
    SA- mandela makes rare appreance at granddaughter's funeral
    About 12.4 million children were targeted to sing the song specially composed for the Madiba. To give the celebration an added national touch, the Nelson Mandela Foundation has encouraged locals to devote 67 minutes of voluntary work on the day - to represent the 67 years he devoted to South Africa's political struggle.

    "If a man could dedicate 67 years of his life to doing good for the world, imagine what we could achieve if everyone just gave 67 minutes of their time to do the same," said Said Achmat Dangor, the head of the foundation.

    UN boss Ban Ki-moon has given his full support to the initiative.

    “The best way we can thank Nelson Mandela for his work is by taking action for others and inspiring change,” the UN secretary-general said.

    Madiba, as his clan name goes in the Rainbow Nation, will spend the day with his family in his home village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape.

    Mandela has won several national and international awards throughout his life. Notable among them is the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, which was shared with Frederik Willem de Klerk), the Order of Merit from, and creation as a Baliff Grand Cross of the Order of St. John by Queen Elizabeth II and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W. Bush

    US president Barack Obama also joined others in wishing frail looking Mandela well on his happiest day on earth.

    He described the local hero’s life and legacy as an epitome of "wisdom, strength and grace".

    Mandela stood just a term as president and handed over to Thabo Mbeki in 1999. He spent 27 years in prison fighting for freedom in South Africa. He was released in 1990 and later led the African National Congress party to a landslide victory in 1994 - the first time South Africa's black majority was allowed to vote.

    Mandela has not made any public outing since the closing ceremony of the football World Cup in July 2010 in South Africa.

Latest News

  1. OPINION: Welcome to African Green Revolution24/05For the past century and a half, Africa has tried various agricultural approaches without much success.
  2. Egyptians vote in historic election23/05Egyptians began voting freely on Wednesday for the first time to pick their president in a wide open election that pits Islamists against men who serv…
  3. Africa Day 2012 - a moment for reflection and…22/0525th May is Africa Day. For many years it has been a celebration of African unity. It dates back to 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) …
  4. South Africa's African agenda21/05The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Kgalema Mothlanthe paid a rare visit to Ghana in April at the invitation of John Dramani Mahama …
  5. Women struggle to rinse hunger, poverty stains21/05Just looking at her one clearly appreciates that she is old and frail therefore in need of support for food, clothing and shelter to live comfortably …
  6. Climate Climate change affects migratory birds…21/05Changes in the climate globally have affected the movement of both migratory and resident species of birds, Nature Uganda has said.
  7. Ghana: Foreign retailers cited for currency…18/05The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is attributing the sharp depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies to the illegal activiti…
  8. Kenya: Community radio brings succour to…18/05Korogocho, a slum in northeastern Nairobi with 100,000 inhabitants, had many of the ingredients for a political explosion similar to those that rocked…
  9. Veld fires 'flame' Zimbabwe's…16/05Over the years, Zimbabwe has experienced the scourge of veld fires destroying property worth thousands of dollars.
  10. Liberia commends ECOWAS for support14/05The induction training of pioneer Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Volunteers for Liberia kicked off in Monrovia, with the Deputy Mi…
  11. Vanishing Lake Chad puts 30m lives at risk14/05As you approach the Lake Chad basin from Maiduguri, in north-eastern Nigeria, the evidence of despair is telling.
  12. Heavy rains cause havoc in Kenya14/05Heavy Rainfall continued to wreak havoc across the country leading to the suspension of relief food in some parts of the country as most roads in Turk…
  13. Zimbabwe: Growth points lie dormant14/05The Zimbabwean government mooted the concept of growth points in the 1980s as a means of decongesting cities and towns.
  14. Sierra Leone improves in infant mortality11/05Sierra Leone has improved in infant mortality cases according to Save the Children- World Motherhood index 2012 report. The West Africa country descri…
  15. Zimbabwe: Resettled farmers fail to utilize…10/05Resettled farmers in Zimbabwe are failing to utilize land due to inadequate farming inputs and lack of resources.
News archive