Nelson Mandela

Although born in Mvezo in the Eastern Cape in 1918, Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela has called Johannesburg home since 1941.

Nelson Mandela. Photo courtesy United Nations Photo

He is perhaps the city’s most famous resident and for many years lived on Vilikazi Street in Orlando West in Soweto close to his friends, anti-apartheid activists and fellow noble laureates Walter Sisulu and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.

Mandela completed his schooling at Healdtown, the Wesleyan College at Fort Beaufort and then went on to study at the University of Fort Hare. While at the university he was elected to the Student Representatives Council (SRC) but he was expelled because he became embroiled in a dispute about student dissatisfaction with the food at the university residences.

After he was expelled he returned to his childhood home where he was to marry a woman as part of an arranged marriage. He rejected the bride chosen for him and to avoid the upcoming nuptials he stole a cow from his guardian Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo and used the money to head to Johannesburg. 

When Mandela first arrived in Johannesburg he was 22-years-old and he came to the city as many people do, looking for better opportunities. He initially found work as a night watchman on a mining compound in Crown Mines but quickly decided to move on.

It was while he was looking for another job that he encountered an estate agent by the name of Walter Sisulu. Sisulu helped him find work and introduced him to the law firm Witkin, Sidelsky & Eidelman where Mandela became an articled clerk and studied towards his LLB through correspondence university UNISA.

At this time Mandela lived in Alexander Township in an extremely poor area known as “Dark City” due to the lack of electricity and it was around this time that he became involved in politics through an introduction to the communist party by a colleague.

After completing his LLB he enrolled at the University of the Witwatersrand and while studying there he was exposed to a diverse range of cultures, religions and languages as well as radical liberal and Africanist theory.

At the age of 25 he officially joined the African National Congress (ANC) and helped found the ANC Youth League, a move that was to have a massive impact on his life and South African history.

In the same year he married his first wife Evelyn Ntoko Mase with whom he had four children Thembekile (1946), Makaziwe (1947 – who died after nine months), Makgatho (1951) and Makaziwe (1954).

He moved up quickly in the ANCYL and became involved in various high profile anti-apartheid campaigns including the Defiance Campaign and the launch of the Freedom Charter in Kliptown Soweto. In 1956 he was one of the 155 people involved in the Treason Trial and was acquitted in 1961.

In 1958 he divorced Evelyn Mase and married Nomzamo Winnie Madikizela with whom he has two daughters: Zenani (1959) and Zindziswa (1960).

 In 1960 the ANC was banned and Mandela went underground. While in hiding he travelled across Africa undergoing military training. Upon his return he was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison for leaving the country illegally and incitement and sent to Robben Island.

Mandela was then brought back to Pretoria and charged with nine others as part of the Rivonia Trial. Following a year-long trial he was sentenced with six others to life imprisonment on Robben Island.

In 1982 Mandela, Sisulu, Raymond Mhlaba and Andrew Mlangeni and later Ahmed Kathrada were relocated to Pollsmoor Prison. In 1985 he rejected an offer by President PW Botha to renounce violence in exchange for release from prison.

On February 11, 1990 Mandela was released from prison unconditionally. He walked to freedom hand-in-hand with his wife and after spending a night in Cape Town, travelled to Johannesburg and greeted his supporters in Soweto.

After his release Mandela played a pivotal role in the transition to democracy and he became the first democratically elected President on April 27, 1994.

Since then Gauteng has been his home. From Soweto to the presidential residence called Mahlamba Ndlopfu (the New Dawn) to his current home in Houghton, Mandela has made his life in the economic heart of South Africa.

After one presidential term he stepped down and dedicated himself to fighting for social justice in South Africa and across the world. In 1996 he divorced Winnie and married his third wife Graca Machel in Johannesburg in 1998.

Then in 2004 he announced his retirement from public life and has since enjoyed spending his leisure time relaxing at home with his family and close friends.

As a citizen of Johannesburg and Gauteng he has witnessed some historic events – from attending the inauguration of the third democratically elected President Jacob Zuma to making a surprise appearance at the 2010 FIFA World Cup final match.

From his former home in Vilikazi Street to the ANC headquarters Shell House Gauteng is littered with landmarks that have been significant in Mandela’s life and will give you a glimpse into this complex man and his fascinating life.

 If you would like to learn more about him visit www.nelsonmandela.org.