Qunu - When Mthobeli Jaji first met Nelson Mandela, it was when the late former president visited a local school in Qunu in 1998 and for Jaji, this was a historic moment that he cherished forever.
“He was very humble. I remember he actually shook my hand and asked for my name. I found that to be very humble. From that day Mandela to me forever represented more than a leader, he was a father figure to me. That is how Mandela will be remembered.”
School teacher Mzobanzi Gxobolo said his Madiba moment was when Mandela visited the museum in Qunu several years ago.
“That day I was seeing him for the first time, he was wearing one of his trademark shirts even though I never got close to him, the humbleness he displayed when he was interacting with people struck me. I was with my son and I still remember the excitement he had to see Madiba.
“My second Madiba moment was when I saw him in Mthatha at an event. That day I managed to take a picture with him and that picture now hangs on my wall and it’s something I will treasure for the rest of my life.”
For 20-year-old Walter Sisulu University student, her moment with Madiba was when the icon opened a school in Qunu.
“I happened to attend there and he came on this day to officially hand over the school. I was in the school choir and when we were singing, he joined us and started to dance. All of us were so excited. After that we took a group picture with him, it was a very exciting moment for all of us."
Asanda Nkwani, who works at a nearby service station, recalls her Madiba moment as a day when she and her friends ran after a convoy transporting the statesman to his residence. He waved at us but the policemen stopped us from coming closer to the home. But when he smiled and waved at us, it was a moment when I felt I have met him and that he really touched my heart.”
87-year-old gogo, Mantombi Mbewu said although she never met Mandela personally, a framed portrait of Mandela in her living room will always be her Madiba moment.
“It’s been hanging there for years and there is not a single day that I don’t look at it. For me he is part of my family.” – SAnews.gov.za
