Johannesburg -
Former president Nelson Mandela wrote the obituary of ANC stalwart Walter Sisulu, presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj revealed on Thursday.
“I secretly went to Madiba and told him that Walter will one day die and we need an obituary. I told him it was to be written by you.”
Maharaj was speaking at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg about his comrade, Madiba.
“I then went to Walter telling him Madiba will one day die and he must write his obituary.
“Like Mandela, he asked ‘why me?’” Maharaj told the audience who had gathered to hear him reminisce about Mandela.
He said he promised both that the obituary would be locked in a safe.
“When Walter passed on the obituary was published. And now Mandela's obituary has been published. This is one secret I have to confess to,” he told a laughing crowd.
Maharaj said Mandela was a man of laughter.
“At one moment (opposition leader) Tony Leon wrote to him saying his (Mandela's) government was goofy... When Leon was in hospital, Mandela visited him and said ‘Micky Mouse, it is Goofy’,” he told the crowd.
Earlier, ANC national executive member Joel Netshitenzhe said Mandela insisted on wearing the same shirt for two days, arguing that it was not dirty.
He said when you borrowed a newspaper from Mandela you had to return it neatly intact or Mandela would ask whether it was the same paper you had borrowed from him.
Netshitenzhe said he viewed Mandela's body lying in state at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
“It was an unpleasant moment to see this towering body lying silent...”
Netshitenzhe said Mandela believed in nation-building, reconciliation and development.
Mandela died on December 5 at his home in Houghton, Johannesburg.
He will be buried in Qunu in the Eastern Cape on Sunday.
Maharaj said Mandela had been sanctioned by the ANC more than anyone he could recall.
“One thing about Madiba was that he obeyed the sanction. He admitted to making mistakes and was quick to rectify them.”
“He told me that when he went home and realised he had made a mistake the following day he repaired the damage.”
He described Mandela as a good listener, who would be remembered as a man who fought against corruption and had the interests of the poor at heart.
What was needed to take the Mandela legacy forward was to engage in dialogue, Maharaj said.
South Africa had achieved much in its 19 years of democracy.
“We have achieved a lot with our mistakes. South Africa can change the world.” - Sapa