Long Walk to Freedom

The war between the apartheid regime and the ANC continues to escalate as both sides engage in terroristic bombings. Despite the government’s attempts to divide factions of the liberation struggle, the United Democratic Front (UDF) is formed in 1983 and unites more than 600 antiapartheid organizations in common cause. International pressure dramatically escalates as more nations begin economically sanctioning South Africa and Archbishop Desmond Tutu is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

On January 31, 1985, President Botha offers to release all political prisoners who unconditionally reject violence. Mandela drafts a response to reject the freedom without liberation Botha proposes. Zindzi reads the response to a massive UDF crowd on February 10.

In 1985, Mandela undergoes prostate surgery in Cape Town and is visited by Kobie Coetsee, the minister of justice. Mandela takes the visit as a sign that the government is realizing that only a negotiated settlement will bring peace. To show his good faith, Mandela asks Coetsee to permit Winnie to remain in Johannesburg, where she returned after her house in Brandfort burned down.

Upon his return to Pollsmoor, Mandela is taken to a private cell where he is housed alone. Mandela decides to reach out to the government and attempt to begin negotiations. He views his isolation as a benefit because negotiations “would be extremely sensitive. Both sides regarded discussions as a sign of weakness and betrayal” (525). He does not inform his fellow prisoners of this plan.

Mandela writes to Coetsee in 1985 but receives no reply. In early 1986, a delegation from the British Commonwealth comes to South Africa on a fact-finding mission. Mandela meets the delegates in May, saying he can speak only for himself, not the ANC, and that he favors preliminary talks with the government. Before the delegates can convey his message to both the South African government and Oliver Tambo, the South African military attacks ANC bases in Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, and the Commonwealth’s delegation leaves the country in protest.

Violence continues to rise in the summer of 1986 and a State of Emergency is declared. Mandela asks the Pollsmoor commander to arrange a meeting with Coetsee. By coincidence, Coetsee is in Cape Town, and he and Mandela discuss the political situation for several hours. Mandela is hopeful, but then months pass without Coetsee responding to any messages. 

In late December 1986, one of Mandela’s guards, Gawie Marx, begins taking him on drives into Cape Town. For the first time in 22 years, Mandela can observe ordinary people living their lives. He is amazed by the changes since his imprisonment began. He notices that, despite the ever-increasing violence in the black townships, the white population is well insulated and able to live their lives without interruption. Opportunities to escape present themselves, but Mandela resists. He enjoys his new liberties but knows they are meant to entice him into accepting a conditional release that would neutralize his standing among his compatriots.

In 1987, Coetsee contacts Mandela, and they have several private meetings. Coetsee reveals that the government wishes to appoint a committee to secretly negotiate with Mandela. Despite some reservations about one of the committee members, he agrees.

Once the meetings are set, Mandela brings his plan to his fellow prisoners and sends word to Tambo in Lusaka. The other prisoners are divided but reluctantly support him. Responding to inquiries from Tambo, Mandela affirms that he has not betrayed the ANC and his negotiations with the government are only intended to bring them to a bargaining table with the full ANC leadership. 

The first meeting of the secret working group takes place in May 1988. The talks are weekly for several months and then sporadic after that. Despite the education and intelligence of the Afrikaner government representatives, they are grievously ignorant about ANC history and policy. Much of Mandela’s time is spent simply explaining this basic information.

A great deal of discussion focuses on the ANC’s use of violence. The government representatives insist that the organization must renounce violence before true negotiations can begin. Mandela counters that it is “always the oppressors, not the oppressed, who dictates the form of the struggle” (537) and that it is up to the government to renounce violence first.

The government, which has always been staunchly anti-communist, is also deeply concerned about the alliance between the ANC and the South African Communist Party. Mandela explains that the ANC will not renounce its closest allies merely because their enemy desires it. He struggles to disabuse them of the notion that white and Indian communists are puppeteering the ANC and that the ANC truly does believe in a South Africa which includes all its peoples, not just Africans. 

In the winter of 1988, Mandela is informed that President Botha will meet with him in August. The situation in the country is deteriorating. The government declares a State of Emergency in 1987 and renews it for 1988. Meanwhile, international sanctions are strangling the nation’s economy, particularly once the United States joins the sanctions regime. Despite the turmoil, the National Party returns to power in 1987 with a stronger majority than ever.

During this period, the house Mandela shared with Winnie in Soweto is burned by arsonists.

Mandela develops a persistent cough, and a doctor finds a great deal of water in his lungs. After surgery, he is told he was in the early stages of tuberculosis and must remain at the hospital for several months. The nurses—white and Coloured only—dote upon Mandela and insist on relocating a party to his room so he can attend.

Coetsee and the committee meet with him in the hospital. Coetsee proposes placing Mandela in less carceral circumstances once he is released from the hospital.

Following his discharge, Mandela is taken to Victor Verster, a “model” prison facility, where he is housed in a sheltered cottage. The improved conditions are a great relief, but Mandela recognizes it is a gilded cage. A Warrant Officer Swart is assigned as Mandela’s cook, and the two become quite close. 

Restrictions on communications are relaxed, and Mandela can coordinate with other leaders of the struggle, including Tambo in Lusaka. In January 1989, Mandela sends President Botha a memorandum calling for peace talks and framing the major issues to be discussed. However, Botha suffers a stroke before he can respond and is taken up with internal party politics for most of 1989.

In this chapter, Mandela discusses Winnie’s assemblage of an informal bodyguard, called the Mandela United Football Club. She forms the guard in response to increased violence in the townships, and several members of this guard are concretely linked to brutal vigilante murders in the township. When the body of a teenage boy, James “Stompie” Seipei, is found in Soweto, Winnie is accused of ordering the murder. Mandela adamantly maintains that she was not involved in any of the vigilante violence. 

On July 5, 1989, after three years of talks, Mandela finally meets President Botha. Mandela is very anxious. He resolves not to tolerate any condescension from Botha but earnestly wishes for the meeting to be fruitful. To his surprise, Mandela finds Botha friendly, well mannered, and unfailingly polite to him.

The two men discuss South African history for about half of an hour, with Mandela providing an African perspective on the country’s past. Mandela is happy with the meeting, but a month later Botha resigns as President, citing political betrayals by members of his National Party. F.W. de Klerk, the party leader, is sworn in as President.

De Klerk is an unknown quantity, but after reading as many de Klerk’s speeches and writings as he can, Mandela decides de Klerk is a pragmatist who can be worked with.

On October 10, 1989, President de Klerk announces the release of eight prominent political prisoners, including Walter Sisulu and Ahmed Kathrada. Cosmetic aspects of apartheid, such as separate accommodations, are pared back. In early December, Mandela receives word that de Klerk wishes to meet with him. Mandela hurriedly confers with his allies and friends, among them Cyril Ramaphosa, a brilliant leader of the trade union movement.

At their first meeting, de Klerk and Mandela wrangle over the issue of “group rights,” a means of allowing the Afrikaner population a continuing veto over the political will of the African majority. Mandela feels that de Klerk listens to him in good faith and, following the meeting, writes to the ANC leadership that he thinks de Klerk is someone they can work with.

On February 2, 1990, de Klerk announces to the Parliament that “the time for negotiation has arrived” (556). The ban on the ANC and allied organizations ends after four decades. On February 9, de Klerk personally informs Mandela that he will released the next day. Mandela wishes to postpone his release for a week, but, after some discussion, he agrees to be released on February 10.