The Sowetan – Sam Ditshego

Honest look at the real Madiba by Sam Ditshego.

Young Mandela is a breath of fresh air because unlike the other books about him, this one does not sing panegyrics of the man and shows that he is not a saint, but human and therefore fallible.

Though some people feel that the author was out to reveal negativities about Mandela, I think David James Smith treats Mandela with respect .

There is more to the book than about the way Mandela treated his first wife, Evelyn Mase, or that he was a ladies’ man. It chronicles his life in the liberation struggle. It also has invaluable information about South African politics, the formation of the ANCYL, the PAC, how the Freedom Charter was written and adopted and the ANC’s problem with African heads of state concerning the move-ment’ s multiracial nature .

Smith writes that the movement needed a martyr and that Mandela was used as a sacrificial lamb.

Mandela’s report after his 1962 African tour stated that “the PAC had started off with tremendous advantages ideologically and had skilfully exploited opposition to whites and partnerships.

“Sharpeville had boosted the PAC and the stand of their leaders during the trial and imprisonment of Robert Sobukwe fostered the impression that they were more militant than the ANC.”

The Special Branch found the report when they raided the ANC hide-out at Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia, Johannesburg, and was used as evidence in the Treason Trial. The book concludes with the 1964 trial and Mandela’s and his comrades sentencing.