Johannesburg - Andrew Mlangeni, a comrade of Nelson Mandela who spent more than two decades in jail with the former South African president, says Mandela was an “electrifying personality” who was a leader both during his time in prison and outside.
“It is with a heavy heart that I have to bear the pain of witnessing not only Madiba, but also many veterans and comrades of our struggle depart - a part of me is gone with his passing,” says Mlangeni, born in 1926 in Soweto, using Mandela's clan name. “We should not weep for Madiba. Knowing Madiba, as some of us knew him, he would certainly not approve of us doing so.
I suggest we rather celebrate his life, a life well lived and lived with a purpose,” says Mlangeni, who was one of the original members of the African National Congress' armed wing. “Madiba's spirit has not died because the ideals and dreams he sacrificed his life for can never die,” says Mlangeni, who described Mandela as “one of the greatest revolutionaries of all time.”
Sapa-dpa