This statue of Nelson Mandela marks the entrance to the Drakenstein Correctional Centre, formerly known as the Victor Verster Prison, where Mandela spent the last three years of his incarceration.
It was at these gates that on 11 February 1990, the day of his release, he was met with a jubilant crowd and news agencies from all over the world. The statue was unveiled in August 2008 in the presence of Mandela on the occasion of his 90th birthday.
Known as the ‘Long Walk to Freedom Statue’, it was commissioned by the charitable Sexwale Family Foundation. One of the inscriptions on the plinth reads
‘In honour of ‘Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela together with all those who walked before, alongside and for him in the quest for a united non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and free South Africa as part of the international struggle for human solidarity against all forms of oppression and exploitation.’
The entire traffic island is used to tell the story of South Africa, its peoples and the quest.
Each component was carefully selected to represent a chapter in the story. Mere words fail to capture the inherent symbolism and profound meaning of this statue. I was awestruck and stood there, a lump rising in my throat, struggling to fight back tears.
- The black and white road kerb represents the black and white peoples of South Africa, coming together.
- The riverbed stones, different colours and different sizes, represent the diverse people of South Africa. Everyone is included: tall, short, big, small, young, old, all skin colours, and all backgrounds.
- The barbed wire etched into the marble represents the fence surrounding the prison on Robben Island where Mandela served most of his time.
- The slate surrounding the plinth came from a mine on Robben Island.
- The bars in front of the white marble sections of the plinth are the actual bars from the windows of Mandela’s prison cell on Robben Island. The bars are deliberately bent open to represent freedom.
Afterwards, we stood there for a long time, right there where Mandela took his first steps as a free man in February 1990.
We just stood there in honour of this great leader, reflecting on the enormity of the apartheid struggle and the indomitable human spirit.
