Mandela’s daughter Zindzi dies at 59

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Zindzi Mandela, the youngest daughter of South Africa’s first black president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela died on Monday at the age of 59, her family and President Cyril Ramaphosa announced.

Daughter to Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, she was South Africa’s ambassador to Denmark at the time of her death, which coincided with the anniversary of a car crash that claimed the life of his first son, 51 years earlier.

“Ambassador Mandela passed away in the early hours of today, 13 July 2020, in a Johannesburg hospital,” Ramaphosa said in a statement.

The cause of her death was not immediately revealed.

She had been designated to become South Africa’s envoy to Liberia after her stint in Copenhagen, which started in 2015.

The Mandela family released a brief statement announcing her death, which said she was survived by her children and grandchildren.


Zindzi was born and raised in Soweto and grew up while her father was incarcerated by the apartheid regime for 27 years.

Like her parents, she was involved in the liberation struggle and was an active member of the African National Congress (ANC) youth movement.

One of her most prominent moments was in 1985 when she read out — in front of a huge crowd of ANC supporters at a Soweto stadium — a letter in which her father rejected an offer of release from the then apartheid president, P.W. Botha.

At the time Botha had offered to free Mandela from prison on condition he renounced the anti-apartheid violence and protests.

‘Steadfastness’
That letter, which she read dressed in yellow and black — the trademark colours her father had adopted as a statesman — “reinvigorated the values and principles of the struggle”, according to another anti-apartheid icon, retired archbishop Desmond Tutu.

“For the 27 years that Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, his family –- wife… and daughters Zindzi and Zenani –- played a critical role symbolising the humanity and steadfastness of the anti-apartheid struggle,” the Tutu Foundation said in a statement.

Her fiery anti-apartheid stance did not wane with age.

In June last year, Zindzi set off a storm when she tweeted “Dear Apartheid Apologists, your time is over. You will not rule again. We do not fear you. Finally #TheLandIsOurs”.

In another she addressed to some of her Twitter critics as “trembling white cowards” and “thieving rapist descendants” of Jan van Riebeeck, referring to the Dutch colonial administrator who led first white settlers that landed in South Africa in 1652.

Paying tribute to Zindzi’s “unshakeable resolve of our fight for freedom”, Ramaphosa referred to her as “a fearless political activist who was a leader in her own right”.

“Our sadness is compounded by this loss being visited upon us just days before the world marks the birthday of the great Nelson Mandela,” said Ramaphosa.

Mandela died in December 2013 at the age of 95. The anniversary of his birth is on July 18.

Two surviving children
Only two of Mandela’s five adult children survive.

Zenani, 61, is South Africa’s ambassador to Argentina while Makaziwe, 66, is a businesswoman in South Africa.

His eldest child Thembekile was killed at the age of 24 in a car crash on this day — July 13, 1969 — while his father was imprisoned on Robben Island.

His other son, Makgatho Mandela, died of an AIDS-related illness in 2005 at the age of 54.

Both Thembekile and Makgatho were born from Mandela’s first marriage with Evelyn Mase, as was Makaziwe.

Mandela spoke openly about the cause of Makgatho’s death, becoming one of the first public figures to break the taboo around the AIDS epidemic that had engulfed South Africa.

A daughter from Mandela’s first marriage died in 1948, nine months after birth.

Agence France-Presse 

Obama warns of 'strange and uncertain times'

Former U.S. president Barack Obama on Tuesday used a tribute to Nelson Mandela to warn of "strange and uncertain times", a day after Donald Trump refused to challenge Vladimir Putin over interference in U.S. elections.

Delivering a speech in Johannesburg marking 100 years since Nelson Mandela's birth, Obama made no direct reference to his successor but warned that the "politics of fear and resentment" were spreading across the world.

Obama criticized climate-change deniers, race-based migration policies, unbridled capitalism and "strongman politics" -- all issues likely to be seen as veiled attacks on Trump.

"Given the strange and uncertain times we are in, each day's news cycles brings more head-spinning and disturbing headlines, I thought maybe it would be useful to step back for a moment and get some perspective," Obama said at the start of his speech.

Obama spoke to a crowd of more than 10,000 people at a cricket stadium in Johannesburg in the centrepiece event of celebrations marking 100 years since Nelson Mandela's birth.

"It is in part because of the failures of governments and powerful elites… that we now see much of the world threatening to return to an older, more dangerous, more brutal way of doing business," Obama said.

"You have to believe in facts, without facts there is no basis from cooperation," he said.

"I can't find common ground when someone says climate change is not happening."

- Mandela's birthday -

Tuesday's speech came on the eve of "Mandela Day" -- his birthday, which is marked around the world every year on July 18.

Obama has made relatively few public appearances since leaving the White House in 2017, but he has often credited Mandela for being one of the great inspirations in his life.

Mandela, who died in 2013, remains a global icon for his long struggle against white-minority apartheid rule and for his message of peace and reconciliation after being freed following 27 years in prison.

Obama met Mandela only briefly in 2005 but gave a eulogy at his funeral saying Mandela "makes me want to be a better man" and hailing him as "the last great liberator of the 20th century".

The "Mandela 100" anniversary has triggered a bout of memories and tributes to the late anti-apartheid leader, as well as a debate over his legacy and South Africa's fate since he stepped down in 1999.

African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Mandela's widow Graca Machel were among the guests from Obama's speech.

People queued outside the Wanderers stadium from early morning although the ceremonies eventually started late.

"We need more hope because we are living in difficult times," Nomsa Nkosi, 45, a blind woman in the audience, told AFP.

"Mandela was one of a kind and we need the youngsters to come and see what is meant by motivation."

Before arriving in South Africa, Obama paid a brief visit to Kenya, his father's home country.

Obama will also host a town hall event in Johannesburg on Wednesday for 200 young leaders selected from across Africa to attend a five-day training programme.

Mandela was imprisoned under apartheid rule in 1962 and only freed in 1990, when he went on to lead the African National Congress party to victory in the first multi-race elections in 1994.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Obama speech to mark 100 years since Mandela's birth

JOHANNESBURG -- Former US president Barack Obama will deliver a speech to a crowd of 15,000 people in South Africa on Tuesday as the centerpiece of celebrations marking 100 years since Nelson Mandela's birth.

Obama has made relatively few public appearances since leaving the White House in 2017, but he has often credited Mandela for being one of the great inspirations in his life.

He will deliver the Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture at a cricket stadium in Johannesburg in an address which will urge young people to fight to defend democracy, human rights and peace.

Mandela, who died in 2013, remains a global icon for his long struggle against white-minority apartheid rule and for his message of peace and reconciliation after being freed following 27 years in prison.

Obama met Mandela only briefly in 2005 but gave a eulogy at his funeral saying Mandela "makes me want to be a better man" and hailing him as "the last great liberator of the 20th century".

Tuesday's speech comes on the eve of "Mandela Day" -- his birthday, which is marked around the world every year on July 18.

The "Mandela 100" anniversary has triggered a bout of memories and tributes to the late anti-apartheid leader, as well as a debate over his legacy and South Africa's fate since he stepped down in 1999.

LEGACY THREATENED?

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said he would mark the day by donating half his salary to charity to honor "the great sacrifices he made and his tireless commitment to improving the lives of the most vulnerable."

But F.W. de Klerk, the former president who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Mandela in 1993, told AFP: "I'm convinced that President Mandela would be deeply concerned, as I am, about the present state of affairs in South Africa."

"His vision of a reconciled South Africa has become almost non-existent within the (ruling) ANC at the moment," he said.

Before arriving in South Africa, Obama paid a brief visit to Kenya, his father's home country.

He opened a youth center run by his half-sister and visited the home of his step-grandmother in the village of Kogelo, where his father was born and was buried.

Obama will also host a town hall event in Johannesburg on July 18 for 200 young leaders selected from across Africa to attend a five-day training program.

Mandela was imprisoned under apartheid rule in 1962 and only freed in 1990, when he went on to lead the African National Congress party to victory in the first multi-race elections in 1994.

The anniversary includes a string of other events such as a walk in Johannesburg led by Mandela's widow Graca Machel, the release of letters Mandela wrote from his prison cell and the printing of a commemorative banknote.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Obama breaks Twitter record with Charlottesville tweet

A tweet by former US President Barack Obama soon after the outbreak of violence at a nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday garnered 2.8 million "likes" to become the most liked Twitter message ever by Tuesday, the social media network said.

"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion...," Obama tweeted, quoting South Africa's anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela.

At the time this story was posted early Friday morning (Manila time), the number of "likes" reached 4.2 million.

He followed that record-breaking tweet with the following messages:

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Mandela rape-accused grandson in fresh trouble

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - A grandson of South African icon Nelson Mandela, who was freed on bail in a child sex case, is being investigated for assaulting a woman, police said Sunday.

"A case of assault has been opened and (the) investigation is ongoing," police spokeswoman Mashadi Selepe said.

Under South African law, a suspect's identity cannot be revealed until the start of the trial.

According to the Sunday Times weekly, the alleged assault took place in the kitchen of Mandela's former home in Johannesburg's posh Houghton area.

The alleged victim was identified as a 39-year-old musician.

The grandson is not allowed to leave the province of Gauteng, of which Johannesburg is capital, until September 16 when the trial is supposed to start.

In the other case, the same grandson is alleged to have raped a 15-year-old girl in a toilet at a popular pub in Johannesburg on August 7.

During the hearing, the suspect's lawyers disputed the victim's age, arguing that she was 16 and that the sex was consensual.

The case is the latest to tarnish the family of the late icon, who died in 2013.

Earlier this year, Mandla Mandela, the eldest of the late statesman's grandsons, was convicted of assaulting a motorist during a road-rage incident. He is appealing his three-year suspended sentence.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Mandela's death resonates in world of sports

WASHINGTON - Boxing great Muhammad Ali saluted the legacy of Nelson Mandela Thursday, saying the revered icon of South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle "taught us forgiveness on a grand scale."

Ali's was just one of the tributes that poured in from the world of sport in the wake of Mandela's death at the age of 95.

Ali, the former heavyweight world champion who himself became a beloved civil rights campaigner, said he was "deeply saddened" by Mandela's death.

"His was a life filled with purpose and hope; hope for himself, his country and the world," Ali said. "He inspired others to reach for what appeared to be impossible and moved them to break through the barriers that held them hostage mentally, physically, socially and economically. He made us realize, we are our brother's keeper and that our brothers come in all colors."

"What I will remember most about Mr. Mandela is that he was a man whose heart, soul and spirit could not be contained or restrained by racial and economic injustices, metal bars or the burden of hate and revenge. He taught us forgiveness on a grand scale. His was a spirit born free, destined to soar above the rainbows. Today his spirit is soaring through the heavens. He is now forever free."

World football chief Sepp Blatter, in Brazil on the eve of the draw for the 2014 World Cup, called Mandela "one of the greatest humanists of our time and a dear friend of mine."

Blatter paid warm personal tribute to Mandela, who famously embraced South Africa's predominantly white rugby team after they won the 1995 World Cup on home soil in a poignant moment of racial reconciliation.

"He and I shared an unwavering belief in the extraordinary power of football (and sport generally) to unite people in peace and friendship, and to teach basic social and educational values as a school of life," said Blatter.

Golf great Tiger Woods recalled meeting Mandela in 1998, the year after his first Masters triumph.

Woods was playing a tournament in South Africa, and he and his father, Earl, were invited to lunch at Mandela's home.

"It was one of the most inspiring times I've ever had in my life," said Woods, who also marveled at Mandela's capacity for forgiveness and ability to forge reconciliation after two decades in prison.

"I don't think any of us probably here could have survived that and come out as humble and as dignified as he did. To lead an entire nation and to basically love the world when he came out, I think that's a testament to his will and his spirit and who he was."

Another golf great, South Africa's own Gary Player, tweeted his respects.

"Condolences to all on the passing of our beloved Father of the South African Nation, Nelson Mandela. Madiba we loved you. Rest in Peace," Player said on Twitter.

Portugal football captain Cristiano Ronaldo posted a picture on his Facebook page of himself with Mandela, taken at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

"Thankyou Madiba for your legacy and your example," he wrote. "You'll always stay with us."

"We have lost a true gentleman and a courageous human being. It was truly an honor to have known a man who had genuine love for so many people," said former England football captain David Beckham.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

The shirts, the humor, the empathy -- the magic of Mandela

JOHANNESBURG - South Africans called it the "Madiba magic" after his clan name -- Nelson Mandela's quirky mix of grandeur and simplicity, his ready quips, his ability to relate to the poor, his colorful custom-made shirts and his dancing prowess.

Mandela -- who succumbed to a recurrent lung infection on Thursday aged 95 -- drew politicians from around the world, as well as ordinary children and adults keen to get a glimpse of the freedom icon who spent 27 years in prison.

Many remember his solemn inauguration as South Africa's first black president on May 20, 1994 at the age of 75, when he shuffled a few steps in perfect time despite the wear and tear on his body, fists clenched, with a beaming smile. The now famous "Madiba jive" was born.

Entertainers parodied it, radio stations took up the beat, and every time Mandela made a public appearance someone would ask him to jive despite his increasing frailty over the years.

Parodied too, in many bars in South Africa, was his distinctive accent -- a slow, punctuated growl.

Indissolubly associated with the Madiba magic were his loose shirts -- riots of color which stood out among the sober suits and ties of his associates.

They were inspired by the shirts worn by former president Suharto of Indonesia, and hand-made for him by a Burkina Faso national living in Ivory Coast.

The photographers loved them, even though they were forbidden to use flash when taking pictures of Mandela because his eyes had been weakened when working in the glare of a limestone quarry on Robben Island, off Cape Town, where he was imprisoned for 18 years.

Thabo Mbeki, his successor as president who wore elegantly tailored dark suits, once described the shirts as "bizarre".

The Madiba magic drew politicians from around the world, eager to be photographed alongside him long after he retired in 1999.

But when US President George W. Bush visited South Africa in 2003 he passed up the chance, after Mandela criticised the invasion of Iraq in stinging terms, describing Bush as "a president who can't think properly".

The children of South Africa adored Madiba, who had a special empathy with youngsters as he missed seeing his own grow up while in apartheid prisons.

In 2002, when he gave his annual Christmas party for children in his home village of Qunu in the impoverished southeast, more than 20,000 children turned up -- some trekking for two or three days -- and pandemonium erupted.

Thousands of children and adults stampeded, with three needing hospital treatment, and security men had to cut down fences to prevent kids from being crushed.

American talk-show hostess Oprah Winfrey was present, carrying thousands of black dolls for the girls and soccer balls for the boys.

Her security detail swung into action and assisted in moving many of the children out of harm's way.

Mandela's empathy for individuals often came at the most unlikely moments.

He once interrupted a meeting to ask after the health of a heavily pregnant journalist, tapping her swollen belly gently with his big boxer's hands and asking her when the baby was due.

He was also adept at poking fun at himself, saying in 2000: "My bosses always say that I have had 27 years in prison to loaf. It is now time to do some catching up".

In 1998, he declared: "My greatest regret in life is that I never became the heavyweight boxing champion of the world".

And when South Africa narrowly lost its bid for the 2006 World soccer cup he said: "At least we have the right to get drunk... next time we will win". He was right.

Roelf Meyer, one of the apartheid regime's negotiators on the transition to democracy, said his eyes opened to Mandela's charisma shortly after his liberation from jail in 1990 when dozens of young white soldiers queued up to shake the hand of the former "terrorist".

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Mandela marks two months in hospital

PRETORIA - Critically ill former South African president Nelson Mandela marked two months in hospital Thursday, as his compatriots extended their national vigil.

The anti-apartheid hero was rushed to the Pretoria Mediclinic Heart Hospital on June 8 with a recurring lung infection. His condition is still said to be "critical but stable".

But the last two months have seen a series of scares for the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and for the country where he is considered a living saint.

His former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela told Sky News that the 95-year-old was "now breathing normally".

Doctors had managed to contain his lung infection but kept "draining fluid from the lungs", she said in an interview broadcast on Thursday.

Madikizela-Mandela hit out at continuing speculation over the revered statesman's imminent death.

"He is not here forever, but how cruel, how cruel is it from the same people that we gave up our lives for to be actually impatient," she said.

On Thursday a steady stream of pedestrians passed the hospital gates, which have been plastered with posters, hand-painted signs and notes wishing the ageing icon well.

Nearby a line of white satellite vans, some parked there for 62 days -- since Mandela fell ill -- were stationed on the road. A white police truck guarded the entrance, while police officers continued to search cars entering and leaving the hospital.

"The country is a little bit quiet because he is still alive," said Elizabeth Thembo, a 63-year-old cleaner wearing a blue smock walking outside the hospital. "God must help him."

On the eve of the sorrow-tinged anniversary church leaders led prayers in front of the hospital, urging South Africans to rally together.

"God is using Madiba, and his extended illness, to present to us a great challenge to unite behind the values that he represents," Pretoria bishop Joe Seoka said, using Mandela's clan name.

Early in his stay family testimony and court documents gave an indication of the seriousness of his condition. He was described as being in a "vegetative state" and depending on life support to survive.

On June 23 the presidency said "the former president's condition had become critical over the past 24 hours," as President Jacob Zuma cancelled a foreign trip.

But since then friends and family members reported the peace icon's health was improving.

Mandela's 95th birthday on July 18 saw the family gathered at his bedside for a celebration.

Across the country there was an outpouring of charitable deeds, with many people offering 67 minutes of good deeds for the 67 years he was in public service.

But despite recent upbeat assessments, there appears little sign of a much-wished-for discharge from hospital.

Last month US network CBS reported, citing unnamed sources, that Mandela underwent a surgical procedure to unblock a dialysis tube.

It also said that he had two scares, once when he failed to respond to his medications and on another occasion when his life support machine showed him in distress.

"It's quite painful, actually. We don't want to face the truth," said Rethabile Maake, a 21-year-old student outside the hospital.

Some people observed that since Mandela has been in care, the country has changed.

"Since he has been in hospital, everything is going down," said Tshepo Rampou, a 19-year-old student with one gold tooth, wearing a green Che Guevara shirt.

"People seem to have forgotten about the maintenance of peace," he said, adding that crime and corruption within the government is a problem.

There are fears that Mandela's message of peace will be lost when he is gone.

"Obviously we feel bad, we still need him around," said Stan Kgomotso, an unemployed 23-year-old from Venda, Limpopo.

Kgomotso is concerned by the message of some political factions, including that of the new political party, Economic Freedom Fighters, being against a racially united South Africa.

"You know they don't like whites," he said, "but whites bring money into our country. If Mandela goes I think it's going to be a mess up."

South Africa's government has been secretive about the health of the elder statesman, issuing infrequent and barebones statements and declining to comment on the specifics of his condition.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

'Improving' Mandela turns 95 in hospital

PRETORIA - Millions of people around the world marked Nelson Mandela's 95th birthday Thursday, heartened by news that the hospitalized icon was now able to smile and nod to visitors.

After six weeks of intensive hospital treatment, Ndileka Mandela told AFP her grandfather was "steadily improving" and "using his eyes, nodding."

That message was echoed by President Jacob Zuma who visited his predecessor's Pretoria bedside "found him really stable and I was able to say 'happy birthday' and he was able to smile."

That is a dramatic turnaround for the ailing peace icon, who just weeks ago was thought to be close to death.

Mandela was rushed to hospital on June 8 with a recurring lung infection that had already put him in hospital three times in less than a year.

Outside the Pretoria facility which has been the focal point of a national vigil for the last 41 days, there were joyous scenes.

Revellers sang anti-apartheid struggle songs, school children read poems dedicated to a man nearing the end of his long walk that took him from political prisoner to South Africa's first black president.

"Tata (father) Mandela has once again proved that he is a fighter," said well-wisher Agnes Shilowane, a local university student.

Thursday's news was a relief elsewhere in the country to South Africans who marked Mandela Day with a panoply of good deeds.

Biker gangs cleaned streets, volunteers painted schools and politicians spent 67 minutes on worthy projects -- all to mark Mandela's 67 years of public service.

Near Pretoria, Zuma tried to channel Mandela's cross-community appeal by delivering government housing to poor whites.

Messages of support also poured in from around the world -- and even from astronauts on the International Space Station -- to mark the anniversary, which many eared Mandela would not live to see.

US President Barack Obama -- who was unable to visit Mandela during a trip to South Africa last month -- led tributes to the peace icon, calling on people to honour him through volunteer work.

"Our family was deeply moved by our visit to Madiba's former cell on Robben Island during our recent trip," Obama said in a statement.

"We will forever draw strength and inspiration from his extraordinary example of moral courage, kindness, and humility."

Other well-wishers included the Dalai Lama, former US president Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary, US actor Morgan Freeman and Mandela's former jailer FW de Klerk, who went on to share the Nobel Peace Prize with him.

"Mandela's place in South Africa's history is assured," former president De Klerk said in a statement.

"His legacy of courage, perseverance and magnanimity will continue to inspire us -- and people throughout the world -- for generations to come."

'Oxtail and dumplings'

The Mandela family also did their bit, with his grandchildren volunteering at a children's home.

They were then expected to gather at the hospital for lunch, along with Mandela's third wife Graca Machel, who also celebrates 15 years of marriage to her husband today.

"We're doing our 67 minutes and bringing our old clothes that we're not using anymore. Then we'll converge at the hospital to have lunch with granddad," said Mandela's granddaughter Ndileka said.

She said the birthday meal would include Mandela's favourite food, including "oxtail, prawns, dumplings and vegetables".

Another granddaughter, Zaziwe Dlamini-Manaway, distributed food at a school.

"I think it's important for us to give back," she said.

"We are a family, we hope for him to come home, and we know the whole nation would hope the same thing, and the whole world."

The United Nations declared the Nobel Peace laureate's birthday Mandela Day in 2010, but for many this year it takes on extra poignancy.

In central Lisbon the Don Pedro IV Square was to be renamed Nelson Mandela Square, and an open-air Mandela-themed opera concert was planned in Paris.

On Saturday, the Australian city of Melbourne will hold a concert featuring local and African artists.

Born on July 18, 1918, Mandela fought against white rule in South Africa as a young lawyer and was convicted of treason in 1964.

He spent the next 27 years in jail.

It was in part through his willingness to forgive his white jailers that Mandela made his indelible mark on history.

After negotiating an end to apartheid, he became South Africa's first black president, drawing a line under centuries of colonial and racist suppression.

He then led reconciliation in the deeply divided country.

But the sunset of Mandela's life has been somewhat eclipsed by bitter infighting among his relatives.

A row over his final resting place has seen three of his children's graves dug up and their remains moved amid public brawling and legal action among his children and grandchildren.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

In new homage, Obama to view Mandela jail cell

JOHANNESBURG - President Barack Obama will Sunday stare into the stark cell where Nelson Mandela spent years as prisoner of a racist regime, in a visit paying homage to his hero after he left Johannesburg without seeing the ailing icon.

The US leader will fly to Cape Town and then visit the jail on Robben Island, now preserved in searing tribute to the sacrifice and unbreakable strength of the anti-apartheid leader, who now lies critically ill in hospital.

"For me to be able to bring my daughters there and teach them the history of that place and this country ... that's a great privilege and a great honour," said Obama, marvelling at a recent outpouring of love for the ailing icon.

Obama will also build the keynote speech of his three-nation Africa tour at the University of Cape Town around Mandela, and will cite his unifying legacy of a blueprint for a new generation in emerging Africa.

Mandela's illness placed Obama in a tricky political spot, forcing him to balance his desire to push for a new economic relationship with Africa, with the need to properly honour his hero as the world braces for his passing.

On Saturday, Obama and his wife Michelle called Mandela's wife Graca Machel, and the president then privately visited several daughters and grandchildren of Mandela, to offer support and prayers.

But he decided against rolling up in his massive entourage at the Pretoria hospital where the 94-year-old Mandela lies, worried that he would disturb his peace.

"I expressed my hope that Madiba draws peace and comfort from the time that he is spending with loved ones," Obama said in a statement using the 94-year-old Mandela's clan name.

Machel said she drew "strength from the support" from the Obama family.

The example of Mandela, South Africa's first black president, drew Obama into politics for the first time in the 1970s, putting him on a path that would make his own piece of history as America's first black president.

"The struggle here against apartheid, for freedom, Madiba's moral courage, his country's historic transition to a free and democratic nation, has been a personal inspiration to me," Obama said.

"It has been an inspiration to the world," Obama said.

South Africa President Jacob Zuma said after talks with Obama Saturday that Mandela remained in a "critical but stable" condition with a recurring lung infection.

And he said that Obama and Mandela were "bound by history" after breaking racial barriers to rise to power.

"You both carry the dreams of millions of people in Africa," Zuma, who also spent 10 years on Robben island, told Obama.

South Africa's last apartheid president FW de Klerk meanwhile cut short a visit to Europe because of the ailing health of his co-Nobel prize winner.

Obama's warm welcome was not universal. Riot police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades at around 300 hundred anti-Obama protesters in the township of Soweto, once a flashpoint in the anti-apartheid struggle.

Many Soweto residents, however, see Obama, the son of a white American mother and a Kenyan father, as a "fellow African".

"To me, Madiba represents an older and perhaps more traditional generation of black leaders, while Obama represents the new generation," Tshepo Mofokeng, 43, told AFP. "I'm sure he will be welcomed here as an African."

Not far from the protest, Obama held a town hall style meeting with 600 young African leaders with a video link up to young people in Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya.

Africa "is in your hands" Obama told the youngsters and urged them to use Mandela as a model for political leadership.

"Think about 27 years in prison ... there were dark moments that tested his faith in humanity, but he refused to give up."

Obama's tour of Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania is aimed at changing perceptions that he has neglected Africa since his election in 2008, while also countering China's growing economic influence in the resource-rich continent.

On Sunday, a day ringing with political symbolism, the US president will be walking in revered footsteps when he gives the speech at the University of Cape Town -- those of slain US presidential candidate Robert Kennedy.

RFK gave his famed "ripple of hope" speech at the same venue in 1966, which was a call for non-violent change and equality, at a time when America was still dealing with the racial discrimination which stained its own history.

Kennedy gave the speech only two years after Mandela was sentenced to life in prison and sent to Robben Island.

"Given the difficult moment we are in with his current health, it makes it that much more profound and significant with the president being here in South Africa," said Ben Rhodes, a deputy US national security advisor.

Mandela, once branded a terrorist by the United States and Britain, was freed in 1990 and became president after the first fully democratic elections in 1994.

Also Sunday, Obama, accompanied on his tour by his wife and daughters Malia and Sasha, will visit an HIV/AIDS Center named for another icon of South Africa's emancipation struggle, Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Mandela 'comfortable,' treated for pneumonia

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela is comfortable and able to breathe without problems as he continues to respond to treatment in hospital for a recurrence of pneumonia, President Jacob Zuma's office said on Saturday.

After the revered 94-year-old statesman and former South African president spent a third night in hospital, the presidency said doctors had drained excess fluid from his lungs to tackle the infection.

"This has resulted in him now being able to breathe without difficulty. He continues to respond to treatment and is comfortable," the statement added.

In the first detailed mention of his medical condition since his latest hospitalization, the third in four months, the presidency said the Nobel Peace Prize laureate had "developed a pleural effusion which was tapped".

Previous bulletins since he was taken to hospital late on Wednesday have reported him responding well, in "good spirits".

They have appeared to indicate that the recurrence of the lung infection afflicting Mandela is being successfully treated.

Mandela, who became South Africa's first black president in 1994 and stepped down five years later, has been mostly absent from the political scene for the past decade. But he remains an enduring and beloved symbol of the struggle against racism.

Global figures such as U.S. President Barack Obama have sent get well messages and South Africans have included Mandela in their prayers on the Easter weekend, one of the most important dates of the Christian calendar.

Mandela is revered at home and abroad for leading the struggle against white minority rule, then promoting the cause of racial reconciliation when in power.

His fragile health has been a concern for years as he has withdrawn from the public eye and mostly stayed at his affluent homes in Johannesburg and in Qunu, the rural village in the destitute Eastern Cape province near where he was born.

'Father of the nation'

South Africans of all ages and walks of life have been following the official medical bulletins closely.

"He is the father of the nation, our Abraham Lincoln, our George Washington," said South African economics student Curtis Richardson, 19, as he visited Nelson Mandela Square in an upscale Johannesburg shopping mall with friends.

Mandela remains an inspirational figure worldwide.

"If he dies, it will be a tragedy, because he's such a symbol," said Kagisho Paterson, 19, a visitor from Britain, snapping photos near a towering statue of Mandela in the square.

English Premiership League soccer team Sunderland AFC designated Saturday "Nelson Mandela Day" to kick off its new deal supporting the ex-president's charitable foundation. The partnership would start with fundraising efforts during the team's home clash with Manchester United, Sunderland added.

Mandela's ruling African National Congress (ANC) is still the dominant force in South African politics, but critics say it has lost the moral compass bequeathed it by the previous generation of anti-apartheid freedom fighters.

Under such leaders as Mandela and the late Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo, the ANC gained wide international respect when it battled white rule.

Once the yoke of apartheid was thrown off in 1994, it began governing South Africa in a blaze of goodwill from world leaders who viewed it as a beacon for a troubled continent and world.

Almost two decades later, this image has dimmed as ANC leaders have been accused of indulging in the spoils of office, squandering mineral resources and engaging in power struggles.

Mandela was in hospital briefly earlier this month for a check-up and spent nearly three weeks in hospital in December with a lung infection and after surgery to remove gallstones.

He has a history of lung problems dating back to when he contracted tuberculosis as a political prisoner.

A Nigerian visitor to Johannesburg, civil engineer Gregory Osugba, 35, called Mandela "an icon of greatness and freedom" for the entire African continent and the world.

"When he goes ... the symbol will remain," he said.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Nelson Mandela back in hospital with lung infection

Former South African president Nelson Mandela has been readmitted to hospital with a recurrent lung infection, the presidency said Thursday.



The 94-year-old was hospitalized "due to the recurrence of his lung infection" just before midnight on Wednesday, President Jacob Zuma's office said in a statement.

It is the second time this month that the anti-apartheid hero has spent the night in hospital and follows a nearly three-week stay in December for the lung infection and for surgery to extract gallstones.

Earlier this month, he spent a night in hospital for a "scheduled medical checkup".

"Doctors are attending to him, ensuring that he has the best possible expert medical treatment and comfort," said the presidency.

Zuma wished "Madiba", as he is fondly known in South Africa, a quick recovery.

"We appeal to the people of South Africa and the world to pray for our beloved Madiba and his family and to keep them in their thoughts," he said.

"We have full confidence in the medical team and know that they will do everything possible to ensure recovery."
The name or location of the hospital was not provided.

Mandela has had several health scares over the years.

In early 2012, he was admitted for a minor exploratory procedure to investigate persistent abdominal pain.

In 2011, he was hospitalized for two nights for an unnamed acute respiratory infection.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner diagnosed with early stage tuberculosis in 1988 while serving a 27-year jail term during apartheid.

source: abs-cbnnews.com