Why do we celebrate Freedom Day?

Freedom Day is an annual celebration of South Africa’s first non-racial democratic elections of 1994.

Peace, unity, the preservation and restoration of human dignity hallmarks Freedom Day celebrations on the 27th of April of each year.

It is an occasion for the country to remember and celebrate struggle icons and honour those who continue to be committed to transformation and to building a better life for all of us.

February 2, 1990, saw the unbanning of the South African Communist Party (SACP), Pan African Congress (PAC) and other organisations. A non-racial constitution was eventually agreed upon and adopted in 1993. On April 27, 1994, the nation finally cast its vote in the first democratic election in the country. The African National Congress (ANC) was voted into power, and Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the president of South Africa on May 10.

Freedom Day therefore serves as a reminder to us that the guarantee of our freedom requires us to remain permanently vigilant against corruption and to build an active citizenry that will work towards wiping out the legacy of racism and inequality, and promote the rights embodied in our constitution.