Nelson Mandela visited Glasgow on 9 October 1993 to thank the people of the city for their support to him and to all South Africans in the struggle against the racist apartheid system: back in 1981, the city had been the first in the world to confer ‘freeman’ status on the African National Congress leader.
David Kenyvn was active in the Apartheid Movement, and his commitment continues today through his roles as Vice Chair of the Trustees of Action for Southern Africa, and Vice Chair of ACTSA Scotland. He remembers receiving a faxed speech that would become even more unreadable if it was re-faxed. In the days before PDF attachments and emails, there was only one thing for it: a journey north to Scotland.
I had not intended to be in Glasgow for Nelson Mandela’s visit on 9th October 1993. After work, I had gone to the ANC Office to assist with the visit’s preparations. At 10.00pm the speech to be delivered the next day in Glasgow was faxed through to the office. The three of us there looked at it. We could not fax it through to the hotel because that would be illegible. It was decided that someone had to catch the night train and get the speech to the hotel. As I was still wearing my suit, having been at work earlier, it was decided that I was the one who was going to Glasgow.
I caught the night train and told the concierge that I wanted to be woken up as soon as the train arrived in Glasgow. This was done. I ate breakfast and then washed, shaved and dressed. I ran to the taxi and said to the taxi driver ‘Hilton Hotel, please’. He replied ‘That is where Nelson Mandela is staying’. I replied ‘I know. I have his speech in my bag’, showing it to him in case he did not believe me.
We got to the hotel and I asked, ‘How much please?’. The taxi driver replied, ‘I am nae takin’ money frae a friend o’ Nelson Mandela’.
This is why I am so proud of what is now my city. It is why Nelson Mandela thanked ‘a city 5,000 miles away and as renowned as Glasgow’ for remembering him when he was still in prison.
It is why we need a statue of him in Glasgow so that future generations never forget our link to him and the role of our city in the campaign to destroy apartheid. We have a right to be very proud.
On 8 October, an event at Oran Mor in Glasgow will mark the 30th anniversary of Mandela’s visit with poetry, song and speeches. For more details, click here.
The Nelson Mandela Scottish Memorial Foundation has been established to create a statue of Nelson Mandela in Nelson Mandela Place, Glasgow, and to increase the knowledge and understanding of Mandela’s life and legacy, and the role of Scotland and Glasgow in the worldwide campaign for his release and against apartheid.
Published 28 September 2023.