95-YEAR OLD MANDELA’S UNIQUE STRUGGLE (1943-1994)

Induction into Politics in Johannesburg
Born on 18 July 1918 in the small village of Mvezo, in Transkei, Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela was orphaned after nine years, as his father then died in abject poverty. In 1941, whilst in Johannesburg, Mandela came across Walter Sisulu who impressed him. Recommended by Sisulu, he was recruited as a clerk/messenger in one of the city’s largest legal firms. Mandela shared an office with Gaur Radebe, the only other African employee, who was an active member of the African National Congress (ANC) and the South African Communist Party (SACP), often attending political meetings where he even spoke. Mandela sometimes accompanied him. Attracted to the ANC, in August 1943 he participated, together with some 10,000 marchers led by Redebe, to boycott the bus in Alexandra, where he had been staying, in protest against the increase of the fare.