Tuesday 5th December is the 10th anniversary of the death of Nelson Mandela, and to mark the occasion the South African High Commissioner to the UK and Ireland is coming to Glasgow to deliver the Mandela/Tambo Lecture, organised by The Nelson Mandela Scottish Memorial Foundation and ACTSA Scotland.
In his lecture, Jeremiah Nyamane Mamabolo, will commemorate Mandela’s life, struggle and legacy – and will no doubt draw out connections to current struggles.
It is very fitting that the event takes place in St. George's Tron Church which sits in Nelson Mandela Place in Glasgow (entrance from Buchanan St.): following Mandela’s death of Nelson Mandela on 5 December 2013, a gathering of several hundred people was held in Nelson Mandela Place the following evening.
Glasgow’s association with Mandela has been highlighted previously on this website (click here) and Democratic Left Scotland add our voice to the call for there to be a statue of the first leader of democratic South Africa in Mandela Place.
Mamabolo will be a most interesting speaker: during the apartheid years, he served as Head of the ANC’s missions to Mozambique, Cuba and Zimbabwe. When democracy was won, he began a career of representing the country internationally, as High Commissioner to Zimbabwe and Nigeria; Ambassador to Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti; and Deputy Director General for African Affairs in the South African Department of Foreign Affairs; Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York; and, until 2021, Chairperson of the African Union. Glasgow welcomes him.
Published 22 November 2023.