South Africa : The Rise Of Nelson Mandela

There are happenings in the world that cannot go unnoticed, especially in an objective media organ. The ascension of Nelson Mandela to the Presidency in South Africa in 1994 could not leave Cameroon Tribune indifferent. The National Bilingual Daily dedicated special write-ups on the rise of the political icon and “Father of Democracy” in South Africa, as he was called.
CT’s Editorialist, Nkendem Forbinake, traced the man Mandela from his prison cell through the electoral campaigns and finally to the helm of country on May 10, 1994. As a matter of fact, the African National Congress won a 63 per cent share of the vote at the election, and Mandela, as leader of the ANC, was sworn-in on May 10, 1994 as the country’s first black President with the National party’s F.W. de Klerk as his first deputy and Thabo Mbeki as the second in the Government of National Unity.
Amid growing domestic and international pressure and fears of racial civil war, President F. W. de Klerk released him in 1990. Mandela and de Klerk led efforts to negotiate an end to apartheid, which resulted in the 1994 multiracial general election in which Mandela led the ANC to victory and became President. The tumultuous route to the Presidency and much more, the liberation of his people from the oppressive white domination (apartheid) explains why Nelson Mandela during his ...