Saluting from the gates with a clenched fist, a thunderous cheer went up the world’s most famous prisoner walked to freedom.
Mandela was sentenced to jail for life in 1964 for alleged sabotage. He served 27 years, with stays on the notorious Robben Island off Cape Town, then in the Pollsmoor and Victor Verster prisons.
A picture taken on February 11, 1990 shows Nelson Mandela and his wife, anti-apartheid campaigner Winnie, raising their fists and saluting cheering crowds upon his release from the Victor Verster prison near Paarl. Picture: Alexander JoeA view of Drakenstein Prison, previously called Victor Verster Prison, in 2020. Picture: Rodger BoschMandela spoke from the Cape Town city hall to euphoric crowds, hours after his release from prison where he had spent nearly three decades.
In this February 11, 1990 photo, Nelson Mandela, gestures as he addresses supporters at the Cape Town, South Africa City Hall after his release from 27 years in prison. Picture: Udo WeitzFebruary 11, 2020 marks the 30-year anniversary of the release of the former South African president.
Ramaphosa, who was 37 at the time of Mandela’s release, said the apartheid government came under immense pressure to free Mandela. Mandela, and then South African President F.W. de Klerk, who freed him, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 “for their work to peacefully end apartheid and for laying the foundation for a new democratic South Africa.”
Magnanimous, charismatic and inclusive during his one term as president which ended in 1999, Mandela led South Africa to a new era of democracy. In retirement he remained active in encouraging rights for all.
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