Cape Town – The Nelson Mandela Foundation
has set the record straight about claims in a book that purports to give “life lessons from Nelson Mandela about lockdown”.
In referring to the late statesman’s years in prison, Dr Brenda Hattingh penned, on the back cover of her
self-published book, Life Lessons
from Nelson Mandela, that Mandela entered his “lockdown” period as an “angry, revengeful terrorist and murderer with a dream and vision”, who “started to live his best life - a 5-Star life, at the age of 80 years - and only after lockdown”.
The remarks have been met with outrage on social media, and Hattingh yesterday said she “regrets the phrasing without giving context”, and has removed the statement.
Nelson Mandela Foundation spokesperson Luzuko Koti said the remarks were inaccurate.
“The Foundation has chosen not to interfere with this exercise of freedom of speech. However, it would be important to stick to facts, especially in reference to the questionable and inaccurate remarks made in the book about who and what Mandela was before he went to prison.
“The public has the right to be
outraged at these inferences made
in the book because Mandela’s
legacy belongs to the people.
"The
Nelson Mandela Foundation deeply
appreciates that people have been
active and used their freedom of
speech to stand up and defend
Mandela’s legacy on questions of
fact,” Koti said.
Hattingh is a leadership coach
and mentor, and a registered
psychologist who has published in
the past.
She has never met Mandela.
She said yesterday she had been
overwhelmed by the reaction to
the book.
“The phrase on the back cover
stating ‘He entered prison as an
angry, revengeful, terrorist and
murderer’ was the dominant
narrative around him when he began
his 27 years behind bars in 1962.
I regret phrasing this so directly
without giving context.
"During
that time, this was how Nelson
Mandela was labelled. He was seen
as a terrorist and murderer by the
oppressive apartheid government,
and general white populace of that
time.
"He was also on the US terrorist
watch list till 2008. Fortunately, Mandela’s
terrorist label has faded into the
background.
"Today we can look back
and acknowledge these wrongful
perceptions, labels and the way he
and his comrades were treated. This
too is a lesson,” she said.