Nine days prior to his release, then-state President FW de Klerk announced the release and unbanning of the ANC and other political parties. To mark the occasion, the DA’s Premier candidate for Gauteng Mmusi Maimane delivered a speech on the 24th anniversary of Mandela’s release from prison at Constitutional Hill.
“Mandela did not command us to surrender ourselves to his rule, instead he said, ‘I place the remaining years of my life in your hands.’ Selfless leadership must not pass with Mandela,” he said. Maimane criticised the leadership of the current government.
Maimane said it was sad to think about the legacy of Madiba while in Gauteng, “R6.6 billion is lost to corruption every year while communities protest for basic services,” he added. He said the elections in Gauteng would be heavily contested and predicted the ANC would get below 50% of the vote in the province.
“Long live the spirit of Nelson Mandela,” he said before bursting into song.
Mandela walked free after spending 27 years in prison, accompanied by his then-wife Winnie Madikizela Mandela. On that day, Mandela addressed thousands who had not seen his face in nearly three decades at Cape Town’s City Hall.
