Mandela statue – A new day for SA
Mandela’s statue was unveiled a day after the international icon was laid to rest in Qunu.
PRETORIA – Reconciliation Day marked new day for South Africa and President Jacob Zuma unveiled a nine metre statue of Nelson Mandela at the Union Buildings on Monday December 16.
President Zuma said, “There should now be no more tears. We must celebrate Madiba and take forward his legacy. He should live in our hearts and inspire us to do something good every single day, to honour his memory.”
The unveiling, which took place a day after Mandela’s burial, signals the start of celebrating and living Madiba’s legacy and the end of South Africa’s mourning period.
During the week of mourning, some were silent while others celebrated the life of a legend. Mandela’s Houghton was engulfed by visitors who paid their respects to the great man.
Not only did Reconciliation Day mark a new day for South Africa, it is also a reminder of Mandela’s legacy. Under his leadership, the day became a symbol of collective victory over what used to be a divided nation.
During the unveiling of Mandela’s statue, Zuma said, “It is therefore, of great historical significance that we are marking National Reconciliation Day 2013 by officially unveiling the nine metre statue of Madiba, the man who encouraged us to look beyond our differences and become one nation, united in our diversity.”
When former president Mandela asked how he would like to be remembered, he simply said, “It would be very egotistical of me to say how I would like to be remembered. I’d leave that entirely to South Africans. I would just like a simple stone on which is written, ‘Mandela’.”
