Is Mandela Black Jesus?

Nelson Mandela was a South African nationalist, but his South Africa was really an idea or a vision of universal humanity as much as of a country, writes ELVIS MBOYA, THE SOUTHERN TIMES’ EAST AFRICA CORRESPONDENT, whilst exploring the debate of this man whom some intellectuals now compare to the founder of Christianity Jesus Christ.

Mandela’s legendary words during his Rivonia Trial at the Pretoria Supreme Court on 20 April 1964, remain a living testimony to the life he lived: “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for. If needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”