CHARLENE SOMDUTH

TIMOTHY Padayachee was 18 years old when he voted in the first democratic election.

As a youngster, he witnessed the inequalities of the apartheid regime and chose to vote because he had faith in Nelson Mandela’s vision for the country.

Today, however, those views have changed.

He has lost faith in the current leadership.

“I grew up in Longcroft, in Phoenix, and I matriculated from Earlington Secondary School. My father, Sagren, worked for a German company and non-whites and whites were not allowed to mix.

“They had different places to eat and sit, and had different lavatories. Even when we went to Newtons and the then Village Green on the Durban beachfront, he would tell us where we could and could not go.”

The 40-year-old social media expert, who lives in Gauteng, remembers seeing signs saying “Whites Only”.

“I always wondered why it had to be like that but I never really questioned it.

“My parents were also guarded about apartheid and in a way, they protected us from it.”

Padayachee said he voted because he believed in Mandela’s plans for South Africa.

“People were excited and happy on voting day. Being 18 at the time, I felt like I had a new world of opportunities, without restrictions, and this made me excited.

“After voting, I went on to study graphic design, something that may have not been possible had it not been for the election.”

When Padayachee looks at the country now, he feels despair.

“Back then we did not have as much violence or crime. Today things are so different. Hijackings happen all the time. There are numerous robberies and murder.

“Racism is so rife and people are walking on egg shells hoping not to say the wrong thing.

“The values of Mandela have been lost.”

Although he believes the current government is running the country into the ground, he remains hopeful that things will eventually change.