Day 11: June 10: Nelson Mandela Center of Memory

Posted by on Jul 5, 2012 in Satyagraha Tour South Africa 2019 | 0 comments

After breakfast we visit the Nelson Mandela Center of Memory for a tour of the offices Mandela worked in up until his retirement. 

mandela Foundation Office B

During the inaugural Gandhi Satyagraha Tour of South Africa 2014, the delegation had the opportunity to participate in a historic gathering at the Nelson Mandela Center of Memory, with several of whom were imprisoned with Mandela for decades and then went on to play important roles in the re-establishment of the post-apartheid government.  This is a partial account of that amazing time together.

Nelson Mandela Center of Memory: Meeting with the Robben Islanders: http://www.gandhitour.info/highlights-meeting-nelson-mandela-foundation/

 Highlights of our Meeting at Nelson Mandela Foundation

After our visit with Ahmed Kathrada, Robben Islanders and the Kathrada Foundation Leadership, we will have lunch and visit Liliesleaf, a place of liberation. 

On 11 July 1963, a dramatic police raid took place at Liliesleaf. Concealed inside a laundry van, a number of security branch policemen made their way down a long, dusty driveway. Members of the MK high command were meeting to discuss a contested strategy to overthrow the government. The raid took them completely by surprise. In the search that followed, the police combed every square centimeter of the property, and collected masses of liberation struggle documents. The security police proclaimed that they had ‘hit the jackpot’. 

For the apartheid government, the event was a coup. For the liberation movement, it was a crippling blow. Comrades Bernstein, Goldberg, Goldreich, Hepple, Kathrada, 

Mbeki, Mhlaba and Sisulu were detained. The farm laborers, who were oblivious of the true purpose of Liliesleaf, were also rounded up and taken into police custody. At this stage no one knew what would happen to them. Following the raid, they were joined by Nelson Mandela, who at the time of the raid was serving a five year prison sentence, as well as Andrew Mlangeni and Elias Motsoaledi, fellow comrades who had been arrested prior to the raid. 

Meals Included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Accommodations: Holiday Inn Express, Sandton-Woodmead