On behalf of the Social Democratic Party of Kenya (SDP), I convey our heartfelt condolences to the immediate and extended family of Nelson Mandela, Africa National Congress (ANC), South African Communist Party, friends and comrades of Mandela and the people of South Africa following the death of comrade Nelson Mandela. SDP joins you in mourning and celebrating the life well lived of one of the greatest sons of South Africa, Africa and the world.

Indeed, Mandela will remain one of the greatest examples of life of a patriot and revolutionary. Mandela was forced to live 27 years under psychological and physical torture, humiliation and tribulations of all sorts imposed upon him by one of the then most brutal regimes in the world. Yet, Mandela refused to betray the struggle for social and national liberation of his country. Neither did he give up hope. He was always convinced that he and his comrades were fighting for a progressive and just cause worth the sacrifice and whose victory was ultimately inevitable. And sure enough Mandela lived to see the liberation of South Africa from the inhuman apartheid system. From a revolutionary and political prisoner, Mandela emerged as the first democratically elected president of South Africa and one of the most popular statesmen in the world.

We mourn and celebrate the life of Mandela as a revolutionary: he refused to live as a coward and instead actively participated in the liberation struggle, including organising and starting armed national liberation struggle of South Africa. Mandela was ready to sacrifice his life for the just cause of bringing democracy, racial equality and peace in his country. He was a principled man who loved life, humour, people, peace, justice and freedom. As a communist freedom fighter he was courageous, consistent, wise and principled.

But, as we mourn and celebrate the life of our comrade and father, Mandela, who will remain an example to follow in many ways, we also refuse to forget the sins committed by those who sustained the apartheid regime with the full knowledge of what it was doing to Mandela, his fellow political prisoners and the oppressed and exploited. Those who mourn him loudest today used to condemn him as a terrorist!

We remember that the capitalist and imperialist governments, particularly from Western countries, collaborated with the apartheid regime against the oppressed people of South Africa while condemning freedom fighters, including Mandela, as terrorists. Anti - apartheid organisations such as Africa National Congress and South African Communist Party were also condemned as terrorists by the Western regimes. Had it not been for the support given to the apartheid regime by the capitalist and imperialist regimes, Mandela would not have been forced to spend 27 years of his life languishing in prison. True, Mandela did not stay in prison for 27 years in order to show the world how it is possible to forgive his enemies. Prison is not a hotel! That is why while making Nobel - prize type eulogies on Mandela concerning his ability to forgive and reconcile with his enemies, the leaders of the capitalist and imperialist countries should also take the opportunity to apologies on behalf of their former governments to their people and the people of Africa for betraying Mandela and the people of South Africa and Africa in the hour of need.

Africa will never forget her true friends during the hour of need. We remember the genuine solidarity offered by the people and governments of the former Soviet Union, the then socialist Eastern European Countries, China, India, Sweden and Cuba to the liberation struggle of South Africa symbolised by Mandela. Organisation of Africa Unity (OAU) - now African Union - particularly frontline states committed their governments and people to supporting the liberation struggle of South Africa and the demand of the unconditional release of Mandela and all political prisoners. As we mourn our father and grandfather Mandela, we also appreciate the solidarity that was given by progressive mass organisations in Western countries and throughout the world to the struggle for the release of Mandela and other political prisoners and for the national liberation struggle of South Africa and Southern Africa.

Mandela made a huge contribution to the accomplishment of unimaginable revolutionary tasks of his time. However, as Mandela himself insists, he did not make the achievements only as and individual but more so as part of thousands of South African patriots and revolutionaries who were in the forefront in the struggle of the masses of South Africans. Neither was Mandela a saint. He had strengths and weaknesses that were based on the fact that Mandela was a human being who lived in definite material and historical circumstances. We can only conclude that whatever the case, Mandela and his generations accomplished the tasks of their times and brought South Africa this far forward. It is upon the present generations of South Africans and Africans to deal with the present challenges.

Talking about the challenges facing South Africa, Africa and the world today, we are worried about the emphasis being put through the eulogies on Mandela concerning his “legacy of forgiveness and reconciliation”. We agree that forgiveness is a high humane attribute that Mandela possessed and that is desirable. However, we believe that forgiveness should be extended only to those who have confessed their sins, asked for forgiveness and repented. But as South Africa prepares to bury Mandela South Africa is sharply divided into classes with the few rich (the majority of who are white) becoming richer and richer while the poor (the majority of who are black) becoming poorer and poorer. The issue of land has not been solved in favour of the landless and those communities and people that were forcefully deprived of their land by the apartheid system remain bitter.


Again, like in many African countries, former freedom fighters have renounced revolutionary ideological beliefs, abandoned the masses and joined the capitalist class to amass wealth for themselves through exploitation of the working classes. Many former comrades have betrayed the struggle and are today helping to consolidate state power in order to maintain the reactionary social and economic status quo inherited from the apartheid system. Corruption and greed among the elites has grown just as the suppression worker’s and people’s struggles for a just, fair and equitable system. So to tell the poor and oppressed people of South Africa to reconcile with the present situation under these circumstances is reactionary, to say the least.

On our part, we emphasise the revolutionary legacy of Mandela that teaches the oppressed and exploited wherever they are to intensify the class struggle against capitalism and imperialism in order to move towards people’s democracy and power: socialism. We refuse to forgive those who deliberately seek and hold state power in order to maintain the socio - economic system of exploitation of person by person! So as we mourn Mandela and celebrate his heroic life, the struggle against the apartheid of capitalism continues in South Africa, Africa and the world.

Farewell dear comrade Mandela!