City hosts Madiba exhibit
THE “NELSON Mandela’s Footprints in the Northern Cape” exhibition was officially opened on Wednesday evening and offers visitors to the McGregor Museum a retrospective look at the mark made by Madiba on the Northern Cape.
The exhibit, presented by the provincial Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), the museum’s board of trustees and the Northern Cape Tourism Authority (NCTA), forms part of the Mandela’s centenary celebrations and provides a fascinating look into the the road travelled by the late president by recalling his visits to various parts of the Province.
At the opening of the exhibit, DSAC MEC Mac Jack highlighted several of the milestones that took place in the Province during Madiba’s long walk to freedom, along with some of the memorable moments subsequent to the 1994 elections, when Madiba became South Africa’s first democratically-elected president.
“During the announcement of the Defiance Campaign in 1952, Mandela was appointed as national volunteer-in-chief of the campaign and also as chairman of both the Action Committee and the Volunteer Board. His responsibilities were to organise the campaign, co-ordinate the regional branches, canvass for volunteers, and to raise funds. This led to regular visits to Kimberley where he usually stayed over at the Letele family home,” said Jack.
“After his release from prison in 1990, Mandela, as the president of the ANC, visited Kimberley where he addressed a huge crowd at the Galeshewe Stadium and business people at the local Protea Hotel.”
Jack added that during his term as the president of the country, Mandela made numerous visits to the Northern Cape, providing hope to the people of the Province.