BY M.V. Muhsin
Bishop Desmond Tutu the trusted friend and spiritual soul mate of Nelson Mandela was visiting Lusaka, in 1986, and I had the privilege of co-hosting a private tea party along with the Limbada Brothers for the Bishop’s delegation which was reaching out to communities in Zambia to gain more support for the Freedom Struggle.
At that time, The African National Congress (ANC) was operating in exile from Lusaka where President Kenneth Kaunda, a freedom fighter himself, had made bold by giving the ANC their Operational Base in Lusaka. In fact their offices were situated less than 500 yards away from State House; and on one occasion the offices were bombed by the operatives of the Apartheid Regime. This did not deter Oliver Tambo, the Head of the ANC operations, to carry on regardless as they had the unstinting and steely support of Kaunda who entertained delegations such as that of Bishop Tutu visiting the country and reaching out for support.
At the Tea Party, Bishop Tutu spoke in superlatives about ‘Mission Mandela’ and of how the ANC operatives were all fired up “like a Power Grid”, (I cull from my notes) ” to liberate South Africa and the world from terror and the evil of Apartheid which is totally against the will of God Almighty”. I recall taking the cue and asking Bishop Tutu what he thought of the conflict in Sri Lanka: “Ah! he said,” with a prescience of faith, ” God Almighty will bless your country as it will mine, with a liberation that leaders like Nelson are striving for, although the nature of the conflicts are different—that in Sri Lanka ethnic, but that in South Africa more serious as it destroys the very soul of mankind.”
The reverence with which we in Zambia, in the mid 1980’s, looked up to Nelson Mandela can only be fitting for that of a Saint. We knew what African prisons are like. One ANC member described a typical cell in a prison for Blacks where there were 15 people packed in a cell and when they slept they were so packed like sardines that if one person had to turn, he would have to cry out and plead saying “I want to turn” and then, everybody had to turn in unison to create space to turn! While several in the anti-apartheid movement, ANC members in particular, had to undergo such humiliation, in the case of Nelson Mandela he had a different type of pressure put on him, that of being subjected to mental, physical and psychological pressure.
There was hardly any Church service or inter-faith gathering in Zambia in our time there, when Nelson Mandela was not included in our prayers. President Kaunda, a deeply religious person himself, would break out into tears and his voice would choke, when he spoke of the liberation struggle in South Africa which he supported in full measure. In fact, Kaunda would end his letters, one of which I possess and treasure, with “yours in the common struggle!”
And when Nelson Mandela was released in 1990 it was truly a turning point for the Continent as well as for the World at large. It was only a few years before, that I visited Johannesburg and was stunned when I was turned away from entering a toilet where the security guard pointed out to me the Notice on the toilet door “Reserved for Whites only.” It’s no exaggeration that my dire need to relieve myself “froze” due to the shock!
The liberation that Nelson Mandela brought, and the example he set to bridge the deep chasm between blacks and whites played out in many ways. But as a free lance sports writer I can only marvel at the genius with which he championed the 1995 World Cup Rugby tournament that was held in (new) South Africa.
The Springboks— the South African team—was known, in the Apartheid years, as a super world class rugby team. It was not allowed to participate in world sports events however, by sanctions imposed, quite rightly, by International sports bodies.
But post apartheid, Mandela seized the opportunity to showcase his country as an embodiment of tolerance and forbearance. The Springboks were seen in the country as a symbol of white superiority and exclusivity. They were openly reviled by black South Africans. In such circumstances to expect the majority black population to support and cheer along the Springboks was anathema to nearly all black South Africans.
Mandela took on a crusade to change these mind sets and use sports, and rugby in this instance, as the Great Leveler.
During the many years I spent in Southern Africa, in Zambia in particular, Sports was indeed a leveler at all levels. The then President of Zambia, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, who I had the privilege of serving, would reschedule a Cabinet meeting to be able to play a round of golf on a Saturday morning or to watch a soccer game of his choice on a Sunday. Likewise, many Heads of State in Africa would give soccer pride of place in their priorities. But Nelson Mandela took this affinity to an entirely new level.
This brings to mind ‘Invictus’ the 2009 film produced by Clint Eastwood, where the epic story of Nelson Mandela and the Rugby World Cup is enacted.
This was a watershed film of a true story. Here Mandela, having been imprisoned for 27 years for his fight against apartheid, is released. On becoming President of South Africa, he turns to the Rugby World Cup event that his new administration hosted and uses the game and its message to reject revenge, forgives his oppressors and finds hope of national unity in an unlikely place – the rugby field!
Morgan Freeman, who was an Oscar nominee for portraying Mandela, and Matt Damon (nominee for best supporting actor) bring to life the ethos of the Mandela message that inspired the underdog South African Team to win the World Cup in the midst of serious misgivings of the black community that rugby was a white man’s preserve.
The Springboks reached the finals and Mandela traveled to the training base to personally lend his support to the team and to give them the Mandela Motivational Tonic. This was no mere Cup Final. It was one that was destined to make history.
It brings back memories of Mandela striding out wearing the green and gold Springbok number six shirt, as worn by Francois Pienaar, South Africa’s rugby captain, and the crowd chanting themselves hoarse “Nelson, Nelson” and the stadium electrified by the emotive power grid.
The Springboks did their Nations Leader proud in a nail-biting, extra-time victory. And Mandela presents the World Cup to Pienaar the South Africa captain at the stadium (where the Mandela Memorial event took place on Decmeber15) with whites and blacks and colored, cheering the South African team which had an overwhelming majority of whites! A rainbow in full spread.
Through the intervention of Mandela, the universal language of sports was translated elegantly to bring new meaning to the fighting spirit of rugby and level off distinctions that corroded the mind and heart.
Mandela was a Giant during his life. More profoundly in death, he dwarfs world leaders, Kings and Presidents and Prime Ministers by the moral fiber and towering example of his stature.
