Another step in Mandela’s long walk

“It is the wish of Mandela’s widow, Graca Machel, to fulfil his intention to complete this sequel and so this manuscript, together with other, extensive archive material, will be brought together to offer the former president’s unique perspective on the first democratically elected government in South Africa’s history,” it said in a statement.

It had always been Nelson Mandela’s intention to publish a full account of his time as president of South Africa, and the archives of the Nelson Mandela Foundation contain a substantial, but incomplete, personally written draft of the book.

“Yet to be titled, the sequel to Long Walk to Freedom will be published next year and will give readers both an unprecedented account of Mandela’s extraordinary presidency and a deep personal insight into the man behind the international statesman.It will be candid and clear-eyed about the difficulties he faced while in office, but also about the fault lines that run through contemporary South Africa.”

Editorial director Georgina Morley said working with the Nelson Mandela Foundation on this project “will be an even greater privilege”.

“The sequel to Long Walk to Freedom will not only tell Mandela’s story from his release to his retirement from government, but also be a rallying cry that will remind readers what he stood for – and how it is still possible for his vision and his political philosophy to positively change not only South Africa, but the world.”

Machel said Madiba started working on a manuscript provisionally titled The Presidential Years in 1998. He wanted to put on record his own reflections of those important years in his life between 1994 and1999 as president, she said.