A new book entitled 'The Young Mandela' is to be released next month, written by David James Smith. Many biographies have been penned about Nelson Mandela, but probably none will arouse more interest than Smith's book. It reveals certain unflattering aspects of the great leader and statesman in his younger years.
According to Smith, Mandela had affairs with, among others, Ruth Mompati, Lillian Ngoyi and Dolly Rathebe during his first marriage to Evelyn Ntoko Mase. Mompati apparently denied having an affair with Mandela, but according to Smith, people close to Mandela are confident that an affair did take place. In addition, Smith contends that these affairs produced children. Evidence in support of this is the alleged appearance of a mysterious woman at the funeral of Makgatho, Mandela's son with Evelyn in 2005. She claimed to be his half-sister from an unknown mother. Mandela’s children also purportedly believe that other half-siblings exist. Smith also references comments from Evelyn herself, struggle stalwart Fatima Meer, and the author Fred Bridgland and two files dealing with the couple's divorce. In the documents, Evelyn alleged that Mandela beat her on numerous occasions. He has denied the accusations.
Mandela and his first wife, Evelyn (I do not own this image)
Reactions to these revelations will be interesting. Those who foolishly believe Mandela to be an angel will be shocked and appalled. Those of us who know better won't be surprised. Pictures of the young Mandela show an extremely good -looking man, who was very concerned about his fitness. Aside from that, he naturally possessed charisma, charm and a magnetic personality. Therefore, it would not be incorrect to suggest that Mandela would have been popular with the ladies. Even if he did not have any extra-marital affairs, he had close relationships with many women that were not romantic. Most of Mandela’s comrades accept and confirm that he was a ladies man, even if his womanising did not occur while he was married.
The fact remains that Mandela, like a lot of other great men in history, did not lead a saintly lifestyle. It is completely wrong to assume that he was a holy man figure like Gandhi. If there is truth to Mandela’s womanising and wife beating, then the image of Mandela as the divine being who merely appeared and liberated South Africa must be shattered. He was not a divine entity, but a man who was all too human, and prone to making the same mistakes that we are all prone to making at some point in our lives.
This hardly diminishes Mandela. He will forever be remembered as South Africa’s great icon, its founder and liberator. But we should not forget that Mandela was a human being. He had his flaws. This is not to condone his behaviour. It can no longer be proved either way that Mandela beat Evelyn, seeing as Evelyn passed away six years ago. It should also be of note that he denied beating Evelyn, while he has not denied having extra-marital affairs. If anything, showing Mandela’s human side increases his stature. It means that his actions in helping to liberate South Africa were not divine miracles, but the enormous efforts of a human being.
Mandela is the last surviving titan of the South African struggle; many of his closest companions and giants of our struggle have gone to their eternal rest. We should never presume that the struggle for South Africa was waged with the help of divine intervention. Ordinary men and women took up the fight for freedom and paid for it with their own blood, sweat, toil and tears. Their efforts are a testament to the indomitable nature of the human spirit.
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