Mandela's release and the transition to democracy
F. W. de Klerk unbans the liberation movements, Nelson Mandela walks free after 27 years, and after four years of tense negotiation and bloodshed South Africans of all races vote together for the first time.
- Long Walk to Freedom — Nelson Mandela, Little, Brown (1994)
- A History of South Africa — Leonard Thompson and Lynn Berat, Yale University Press (2014)
- Nelson Mandela — Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 — Republic of South Africa (1996)
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report — Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa (1998)
By the late 1980s apartheid South Africa was isolated, its economy squeezed by sanctions and capital flight, its townships in revolt, and its military stalemated in Angola. Secret talks between Mandela, still a prisoner, and government ministers had begun in the mid-1980s. In 1989 the ailing P. W. Botha was replaced by F. W. de Klerk.
- A History of South Africa — Leonard Thompson and Lynn Berat, Yale University Press (2014)
- Nelson Mandela — Encyclopaedia Britannica
“The day of liberation”
On 2 February 1990, opening Parliament, de Klerk announced the unbanning of the ANC, PAC and South African Communist Party, and the release of political prisoners. On Sunday 11 February 1990 Nelson Mandela walked out of Victor Verster Prison near Paarl, fist raised, beside his wife Winnie, watched live around the world. That evening, from the balcony of Cape Town’s City Hall, he repeated the words of his Rivonia speech: he was prepared to die for a democratic and free society.
- Long Walk to Freedom — Nelson Mandela, Little, Brown (1994)
- Nelson Mandela — Encyclopaedia Britannica
Negotiation and violence
Negotiations, through the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) from December 1991 and later forums, were halting and repeatedly broke down. In March 1992 white voters backed continued reform in a referendum by 68.7%. Meanwhile political violence, especially between ANC supporters and the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party in Natal and the townships around Johannesburg, killed thousands. The TRC later found that elements of the security forces fuelled it, a “third force”. Massacres at Boipatong and Bisho in 1992 brought talks to the brink.
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report — Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa (1998)
- A History of South Africa — Leonard Thompson and Lynn Berat, Yale University Press (2014)
On 10 April 1993 Chris Hani, the hugely popular leader of the Communist Party and former MK chief of staff, was shot dead outside his home by a Polish immigrant linked to the far right. The country seemed on the edge of civil war. Mandela went on national television to appeal for calm, a moment widely seen as the point when he became the de facto leader of the nation. Soon after, a date for elections was set. In all, around 14,000 people died in political violence between 1990 and 1994.
- A History of South Africa — Leonard Thompson and Lynn Berat, Yale University Press (2014)
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report — Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa (1998)
- Long Walk to Freedom — Nelson Mandela, Little, Brown (1994)
The vote
The settlement included an interim constitution, a Government of National Unity for five years, “sunset clauses” protecting white civil servants’ jobs, and a promise of amnesty for those who confessed politically motivated crimes. Inkatha joined the election only a week before it took place. On 27 April 1994 nearly 20 million people voted, many for the first time in their lives, some queuing for hours. The ANC won 62.6% of the vote, the National Party 20.4% and the IFP 10.5%.
- A History of South Africa — Leonard Thompson and Lynn Berat, Yale University Press (2014)
- South Africa — Encyclopaedia Britannica
On 10 May 1994, at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, Mandela was inaugurated as president, with de Klerk and Thabo Mbeki as deputy presidents. Air force jets that had once been the weapon of apartheid flew overhead in salute. “Never, never and never again,” he said, “shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another.”
- Inaugural address as President of the Republic of South Africa, Union Buildings, Pretoria, 10 May 1994 — Nelson Mandela (1994)
- Long Walk to Freedom — Nelson Mandela, Little, Brown (1994)
The final Constitution, adopted in 1996, with its Bill of Rights guaranteeing equality, dignity and socio-economic rights, enforced by a Constitutional Court, became the foundation of the new South Africa. In 1995, Mandela wearing a Springbok jersey to hand the Rugby World Cup to captain François Pienaar became a symbol of reconciliation that still moves many South Africans.
- Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 — Republic of South Africa (1996)
- A History of South Africa — Leonard Thompson and Lynn Berat, Yale University Press (2014)
Against all expectations, enemies sat down together and negotiated a democracy, thanks to Mandela's generosity and moral authority, de Klerk's courage, and millions of ordinary people who chose peace. It is one of the great achievements of the twentieth century.
- Long Walk to Freedom — Nelson Mandela, Little, Brown (1994)
- A History of South Africa — Leonard Thompson and Lynn Berat, Yale University Press (2014)
The ANC leadership accepted protection of property, market economics and amnesty in exchange for political power; Black South Africans got the vote but not the land or the economy. Some call it an elite pact, and some young activists brand Mandela's compromises a sell-out.
- Amnesty or Impunity? A Preliminary Critique of the Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa — Mahmood Mamdani, Diacritics (2002)
- Thabo Mbeki: The Dream Deferred — Mark Gevisser, Jonathan Ball (2007)
Many white South Africans voted for reform in 1992 but feared for their safety, property and language under majority rule; a minority on the far right saw the transition as surrender and threatened war.
- The Afrikaners: Biography of a People — Hermann Giliomee, University of Virginia Press (2003)
Why it matters today
27 April, Freedom Day, marks the first democratic election, and the images of long, patient queues are part of the national soul. The settlement produced the 1996 Constitution, a source of deep pride. But a younger generation increasingly asks whether the deal, which left most land and wealth in white hands, traded political freedom for economic continuity.