Reflecting on the legacy of a great man

THE footfall of tens of thousands of ordinary people filled the streets of Pretoria on Sunday in the final public celebration of an eventful year to mark the centenary of the birth of Nelson Mandela.

The annual Mandela Remembrance Walk, to which a run was added this year, takes place in the week of Mandela’s passing and reminds us of the extraordinary scenes five years ago when tens of thousands lined the same streets in the capital to pay their respects to the global icon.

The 2018 Mandela centenary draws to a close with the anniversary of Mandela’s laying to rest on Saturday, and the inter-ministerial committee and the Nelson Mandela Foundation are to be congratulated for what they have achieved to protect and enhance Madiba’s legacy this year.

Under the banner of “Be the Legacy”, the centenary celebrations – which included the Trek4Mandela, Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, and recent Global Citizen’s Concert – have provided an opportunity for people to reflect on Mandela’s life and times, and to hold dear his legacy.

Speaking at a media debate last week, Foundation chief executive Sello Hatang challenged South Africans to ask not only where they were when Mandela died, but where they were when his legacy was destroyed by “the mediocrity” of Jacob Zuma’s presidency.

However, he urged South Africans to not lose hope but to regain the spirit of Nelson Mandela within themselves, and to work to build a country which is based on the values and reflects the dreams Mandela had in his lifetime to make the world a better place and ourselves better people within it.