TO CHRONICLE the life and legacy of one of the greatest icons of the 21st century is no easy feat as the tapestry that was Mandela’s life wove together a vast number of people, places and events spread over decades.
In commemoration of the first anniversary since Madiba’s passing, and coinciding with the 20-year anniversary of the publication of Mandela’s first book Long Walk to Freedom, the Centre of Memory has announced its intention to publish a posthumous book of Mandela’s own writings on his years in the South Africa presidency.
Director of Research and Archive at the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Verne Harris, said Mandela began writing about his presidential years in 1998 when he was still in office, and therefore it addressed issues that were important to him at the time.
Harris indicated that although there was substantial literature on Mandela from biographical and historical perspectives, there was comparatively little published which analysed his presidential years.
“[In the manuscripts] he spent a lot of time on the transition, the 1994 election, decisions around the government, appointments in the cabinet, and he wrote a lot about the Constitution up until 1996 when it was passed. Initially [his writings were] chronological, but it became more thematic towards the end, and it discussed his ideas on issues like traditional leadership,” Harris said.
Mandela reportedly worked on the manuscripts, all written by hand, up until 2002.
Though Harris noted the exact reasons why Mandela stopped writing were unclear, there are altogether 10 chapters in the draft – provisionally titled The Presidential Years.
The Centre of Memory has embarked on the project to see the completion of The Presidential Years as an authorised account of Mandela’s presidency, and will work in collaboration with government and the ANC to gain access to archives and other relevant material.
Harris theorised that the book will be divided into three parts: the first-person written material extracted from the manuscripts; interviews with people who were with him at the time; and scholarly analysis.
“Mandela wanted a book about his presidency, and this book will be generated by insiders,” said Harris.
Proceeds from the book will be divided between Mandela’s estate and the Nelson Mandela Foundation. The book’s publication will most likely fall somewhere between December this year and June 2016, said Harris.
In the sample manuscript released by the Centre of Memory, Mandela wrote that some people leave behind profoundly negative legacies, “the haunting memory of the evil deeds they committed against other people; gross violations of human rights not only limited to oppression and exploitation of ethnic minorities… but who even resort to genocide in order to maintain their horrendous policies. The moral decay of some communities in various parts of the world reveals itself among others in the use of the name of God to justify the maintenance of actions which are condemned by the entire world as crimes against humanity”.
Harris noted that the passage cited may refer to incidents of genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia as Mandela was strongly influenced by genocide.
