'A a itapolose' #Mandela
Tshireletso Motlogelwa | Sunday December 8, 2013 19:32
The soft spoken veteran politician Michael Dingake was more direct. “A itapolose. O tshedile. A tsamaye sentle. O lole ntwa e tona mo lefatsheng leno. O gaisa botlhe. Go ne go sena ope yoo neng a dumela gore Apartheid e ka hela mme gompieno ke fa re bua e seyo. Re lebogela bone bagaka b aba tshwanang Mandela jaana” he said, before pausing and then laughing softly. “Nnyaa mme go siame” more thoughtfully.
Most political leaders were not available for comment, due to the late hour the news came in. Gomolemo Motswaledi was more upbeat.
“He was a man of purpose and a man of destiny. A man who believed that being a champion is being a team player” said Motswaledi. Above all the Botswana Movement for Democracy said what he learned from Mandela was humility and the lessons of political transition.
“He showed a great example of how to maintain a noble and objective path despite the potential backlash and indeed the real backlash. There is nothing wrong with being moral and upright, co-existing with your enemy, even forgiving your enemy”.
Botswana Congress Party President Dumelang Saleshando says there is a lot the new crop of political leaders can learn from Mandela and his life. “Its correct to say there is none like him. If you look at the definition of selflessness you see it here. He didn’t go into political struggle for the benefits but for a principle and he was prepared to give up anything including his life to defend that principle,” says Saleshando.
“The tenacity, to never relent. That is a lesson for new leaders to learn. I think he is the sort of politician that we could all emulate”.
Quizzed on whether he did not fear that South Africa would collapse after the death of Mandela as some critics have warned, Saleshando dismissed that prediction. “The gains cannot be reversed. I don’t think SA would go back to the dark days”.
Political observer Monageng Mogalakwe argued that Mandela should be understood in his proper context as a member of a movement not an individual larger than the movement.
He says to be fair to Mandela’s role in the liberation movement is to recognise the role of the overall movement consisting of all freedom fighters of all persuasions. “Mandela was not alone. The way it is often spoken it as if he was alone, this is not accurate. He played a big and important role but he was part of a movement. We therefore need to understand the context of his contribution and move away from the idea of putting him above everyone else as some sort of figurehead.
He was among many other freedom fighters who gave a lot to the struggle and he often reminded people about that himself,” says Mogalakwe.
Further afield more political leaders and statemen added their views as news channels put up endless tributes.
In a statement released last night former South African President Thabo Mbeki warned that it was time to reflect and recommit to the struggle for a better Africa. “As we mourn President Mandela’s passing we must ask ourselves the fundamental question - what shall we do to respond to the tasks of building a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa, a people centred society free of hunger, poverty, disease and inequality, as well as Africa’s renaissance, to whose attainment President Nelson Mandela dedicated his whole life?” he concluded.
US President Barack Obama added, “I am one of the countless millions who drew inspiration from Nelson Mandela’s life. My very first political action, the first thing I ever did that involved an issue or a policy or politics, was a protest against apartheid. I studied his words and his writings. The day that he was released from prison gave me a sense of what human beings can do when they’re guided by their hopes and not by their fears”.
By going to print Government had not released any statement as offices were closed.