Tokyo Sexwale values example set by Madiba
HOUGHTON – Tokyo Sexwale reflects on Mandela and urges South Africans to participate in the fourth annual Mandela Remembrance Walk and Run this December.
Tokyo Sexwale, who only last year was in the running for Fifa’s top job before subsequently pulling out, spoke about Mandela’s contributions to society during the launch of the fourth instalment of the Mandela Remembrance Walk and Run, at the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
The businessman and former political prisoner said the Walk and Run is a symbol of Madiba’s love of sport. He explained that Mandela’s relationship with sport, in a political sense, was his recognition that sport can unite a divided nation, as witnessed during the 95 Rugby World Cup trophy handover ceremony.
Speaking to the media at the launch on 15 November, Sexwale described Mandela as a ‘great sporting fan’ and someone who was an active sporting participant during his late childhood years. He said, “The great man, Madiba, was a great sporting fan and a very great and enthusiastic sporting participant himself.
“He started as a boxer before he became this political person. He was also a walker because, as a herd boy, he would walk distances in the areas of Mvezo (a small village on the banks of the Mbashe River not far from Mthatha in the Eastern Cape).” Sexwale said Mandela’s proactiveness extended as far as stick fighting, traditionally practised by teenage Nguni herdboys.
He added that the walk is, however, symbolic of the current state of the world and that humanity needs to run to catch up to where it should be. “The world needs to be a better place, and so we’re walking and running towards a direction and target where things will become better in respect to fighting poverty, creating jobs and so on.”
In conclusion, Sexwale told said that he has taken a leaf out of Mandela’s book and also enjoys engaging in physical activities. “I walk a lot, it gives me a sense of calm, especially in the morning when the air is still fresh.
“Sometimes I’m followed by my own protectors but have the privacy of gathering my thoughts as I walk. You solve a lot of problems during a 5km walk.”
Sexwale was involved in martial arts as a youth. “I also do karate, which is where my name comes from because people confuse me with people from Tokyo, so it’s a name that stuck. And so I, too, try to keep fit.”
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