Even though there will be all these leaders and
royalty at his memorial, it should never be forgotten that the great Mandela
touched people because he displayed those rare combinations of leadership
qualities: respect, integrity, humility, caring, courageous and honesty. In applying
them, he showed that he would give as much respect to the most downtrodden as
to royalty. He showed respect and honour for people that he did not know a lot.
Madiba touched my family through something he
had in common with my late brother. Mandela was the first Commander-In –Chief of
Umkhonto Wesizwe (MK), and it was through his actions with MK that he went to
prison. My late brother, who was also born in Pondoland in the rural hinterland
of the Eastern Cape, became a member of MK in the mid-1980’s. He was killed in
January 1991, as we were looking forward to a future with him after years in
exile and also being arrested for his activities in MK.
On the evening before the funeral, Madiba arrived
at our simple rural home with a delegation of ANC leaders to pay his respects.
He called for us as siblings and cousins so he could talk to us. He had personally
met my brother a number of times when he visited the region, as my brother was
in the core group that would be given the responsibility of looking after the
ANC leaders when they visited the region at the time. Madiba told us how
personally touched he was by our brother’s death, and that he had come that
evening as he would be unable to attend the funeral the next day. He had
requested that he be driven to our home after an engagement in a town some
150kms away which had only ended after 6pm. Rather than go to rest, once he had
heard the news, he felt that his task would not have been complete if he did
not come to pay his respects to our family.
In front of my parents, he told all of us that
the only way we could honour our brother was to focus on education and develop
ourselves. We were all touched by how this leader humbled himself to come to a
family that he personally did not know, and had no status besides the simple
working lives of my parents. To him, the passing of a fellow soldier in the
struggle transcended status. And he thought it was his duty to comfort those in
need, and perhaps it was his way of wanting to express his gratitude for the
manner in which my brother had performed his tasks whenever they met.
There is a photograph of my brother, displayed
at the Mandela Museum in Mthatha, of my brother walking behind Madiba after
Madiba had visited the grave of the former Thembu King Sabata Dalindyebo. I
always love looking at it. Mandela never forgot those who worked with him. His
example of leadership left an indelible mark in my heart, and in my brother’s
memory I will always honour and cherish him.
