Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

From Activist (Terrorist) to President & Nobel Peace Prize Winner

Nelson Mandela:  18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013

Mandela was born on 18 July 1918 in the village of Mvezo in Umtata, then part of South Africa's Cape Province. Given the forename Rolihlahla, a Xhosa term meaning "troublemaker.”  Nelson was raised Christian and was the first person in his family to attend school. He also studied and got his law degree.  In 1941 he moved to Johannesburg and was introduced to realtor and ANC activist Walter Sisulu.

During this time Mandela had maintained friendships with European, Jewish and Indians.  Regardless, he was heavily influenced by Sisulu and Anton Lembede, and embraced the struggle for black South Africans.  Mandela moved up the ranks in the ANC and started advocating direct action against apartheid, such as boycotts and strikes, influenced by the tactics already employed by South Africa's Indian community. Mandela later related that he and his colleagues had "guided the ANC to a more radical and revolutionary path."

The outcome of a “more radical and revolutionary path”

Civilians suffered the most in military attacks by the African National Congress in its fight against apartheid.

A total of 71 people died in such attacks between 1976 and 1984. Of these, 52 were civilians and 19 were security force members.  Among these civilians were people who the ANC apparently regarded as legitimate targets, says the TRC.

'Deliberately targeted'

They included "collaborators" such as councilors, state witnesses at the trials of the ANC members, and suspected informers.  In attacks such as the detonation of car bombs outside buildings housing security forces, the casualties were predominantly civilian passers-by.  There were also many blasts in public places such as restaurants. Cadres seeking amnesty for such attacks explained that wrong intelligence had led them to believe security force members frequented these places.  The report observes that armed attacks virtually came to a halt between 1963 and 1976.

On 16 December, 1961, Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) was launched as an armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). Between 1961 and 1963 about 190 attacks were recorded, undertaken mainly by regional operatives in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.  In 1963 the key members of MK’s high command were arrested and given life sentences. 

"The 1976 student-led uprising inside South Africa injected new life into the ANC."

From 1976 to 1984 there was a steady growth in armed attacks, with about 265 incidents recorded. These included assassinations and attacks on police stations.  "MK activity peaked between 1985 and 1988. The number of incidents increased from 44 in 1984 to 136 in 1985 and 228 in 1986."  About 300 incidents were recorded in 1988, falling by nearly a third in the following year.  Armed action continued after the unbanning of the ANC in February 1990, but they were fewer in number.

"Police documentation obtained suggests that the total number of incidents for the period October 1976 to May 1990 totaled about 1555."

The final report includes a volume containing case studies of more than 19000 victims of gross human rights violations on both sides of the struggle against apartheid.  He was arrested and imprisoned in 1962, and, following the Rivonia Trial, was sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiring to overthrow the state.

After his negotiations and release in 1990, he was said to be a peaceful man, and would unite South Africa's Rainbow Nation.  Yet he was filmed in 1992 singing their war song which is about killing all the white people.

Villain or Hero, you decide…

So where does Ramaphosa fit in...

From all the information available on the internet, and what I have witnessed pre- and post-apartheid, this is my perspective on the matter -

Mr Ramaphosa is in no way ignorant, misinformed, or stupid, but a well-educated, cunning, and calculating man.

Let us look at his education. Academic Qualifications:

· Mr Ramaphosa completed his schooling at Mphaphuli High School in Sibasa, South Africa in 1971.

· He holds a law degree from the University of South Africa obtained in 1981.

· Mr Ramaphosa has also received several honorary doctorates from local and international universities, including the University of Massachusetts, the University of Cape Town, the National University of Lesotho, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and the University of the North.

He has always been instrumental in the ANC right from the beginning. Nelson Mandela even named him as his right-hand man during the negotiations to end Apartheid. As seen in the articles above, he led and manipulated debates in his favor. Which has led us to where we are today. He has never erred from his intentions, and did not try and hide them, you can find them on the links above. He is patient and has set the ball rolling with the ongoing attacks on white people but has meticulously planned it so the finger can never be pointed at him. Others do his dirty work for him. Ask yourself why has Julius Malema never been held accountable despite all the atrocities he has incited and performed? How can this be…he is clearly protected by higher powers that are in government.

Despite him stating what his intentions were, and the fact that it is happening before our eyes…we did not react. His plan has been successful, and South Africans are still sitting in the proverbial pot.

We have grown desensitized to the constant murders, and slow genocide of our people. We cannot even take a stand together because people are scared to stand.  We cannot agree on a way forward, beyond religious, and cultural differences. All these divisions, where do they stem from…From the government taking all our rights away, from the constant reminders and promotion of racism.  The media have been responsible for promoting this agenda too.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend" is an ancient proverb which suggests that two parties can or should work together against a common enemy.

Unity is strength, Knowledge is power.

When will people realize that murder is not acceptable, thinking it will never happen to me?

That the crime rates are not normal. Wake up people! Get out of the pot! Make a stand, because if we do not…one day it will be you or your family that are attacked and killed.

Wake up South Africa!

-- J. Burmeister