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Nelson Mandela's office becomes a place of pilgrimage Nelson Mandela's office becomes a place of pilgrimage
(about 17 hours later)
The chair is empty. The in-tray is empty. The coat stand is empty. Nelson Mandela's absence is felt bluntly in the last office where he worked. The chair is empty. The in-tray is empty. The coat stand is empty. Nelson Mandela's absence is felt bluntly in the last office in which he worked.
The former president's wood-panelled desk is also bare save for three items: the in-tray, a green shaded lamp and a silver-framed photograph of Mandela and his wife Graça Machel, smiling. The former president's wood-panelled desk is also bare, save for three items: the in-tray, a green shaded lamp, and a silver-framed photograph of Mandela and his wife, Graça Machel, smiling.
This was the sight greeting visitors to the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory in Johannesburg on Sunday as the office he used from 2002 to 2010 – preserved as it was on his last day at work – became a point of pilgrimage.This was the sight greeting visitors to the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory in Johannesburg on Sunday as the office he used from 2002 to 2010 – preserved as it was on his last day at work – became a point of pilgrimage.
The spacious room has rugs, tables, sofas and squashy armchairs, ornaments such as a set of ceramic cows and framed photos including struggle comrades Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu, Mandela's son Makgatho, who died from Aids in 2005, and Mandela himself clothed in leopardskins and feather. The spacious room has rugs, tables, sofas and squashy armchairs, ornaments such as a set of ceramic cows and framed photos including comrades Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu, Mandela's son Makgatho, who died from Aids in 2005, and Mandela himself in leopardskins.
But the real treasure trove – quirky, eclectic, eccentric – is behind the statesman's desk: a boxing glove and picture of him with Muhammad Ali; the only photo taken of him with Barack Obama; a colourful statuette of him and Machel; a signed cricket bat; a British policeman's helmet; and bowls, goblets, vases and trinkets from around the world.But the real treasure trove – quirky, eclectic, eccentric – is behind the statesman's desk: a boxing glove and picture of him with Muhammad Ali; the only photo taken of him with Barack Obama; a colourful statuette of him and Machel; a signed cricket bat; a British policeman's helmet; and bowls, goblets, vases and trinkets from around the world.
Above all, the shelves are crammed with books and it is a catholic reading list, from Charlie Chaplin: A Photo Diary to Walking with the Wind by American civil rights activist John Lewis, from a biography of old political rival Mangosuthu Buthelezi to the British former Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe's memoir In My Own Time. There are books about nature written in Japanese. And when it came to physics, Mandela evidently preferred the concision of A Briefer History of Time by Stephen Hawking, although his own mighty tome, Long Walk to Freedom, is also visible. Above all, the shelves are crammed with books, and it is a catholic reading list, from Charlie Chaplin: A Photo Diary to Walking with the Wind by American civil rights activist John Lewis, and from a biography of old political rival Mangosuthu Buthelezi to the British former Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe's memoir, In My Own Time. There are books about nature written in Japanese. And when it came to physics, Mandela evidently preferred the concision of A Briefer History of Time by Stephen Hawking, although his own mighty tome, Long Walk to Freedom, is also visible.
"It feels empty to me," said Verne Harris, Mandela's archivist for the past decade, standing in the office and pointing to the double doors through which the struggle hero walked for the last time in 2010. Suddenly the project of preserving Mandela's letters, files and personal effects have taken on new urgency and poignancy. "It feels empty to me," said Verne Harris, Mandela's archivist for the past decade, standing in the office and pointing to the double doors through which the boss walked for the last time in 2010.
For Harris it has always been a serious business. "I certainly wasn't a friend," he smiled. "I was an employee, I was a pest. Most times I spoke to him was about archives. One time I went to his home with [fellow stalwart] Ahmed Kathrada with a few questions about the past. He said, 'What's your second question, what's your third question?' Suddenly the project of preserving Mandela's letters, files and personal effects has taken on new urgency and poignancy. For Harris it has always been a serious business. "I certainly wasn't a friend," he smiled. "I was an employee, I was a pest. Most times I spoke to him was about archives. One time I went to his home with [fellow stalwart] Ahmed Kathrada with a few questions about the past. He said, 'What's your second question, what's your third question?'
"I told him and he said, 'You know what happens at my age is you can remember some things and not others. I can't remember any of these things. Can I read my newspapers now?' I took that as a signal that he didn't want to be bothered with these things any more.""I told him and he said, 'You know what happens at my age is you can remember some things and not others. I can't remember any of these things. Can I read my newspapers now?' I took that as a signal that he didn't want to be bothered with these things any more."
Mandela did not seem worried about burnishing his reputation for posterity. He began writing a sequel to Long Walk to Freedom in 1998 but gave up three or four years later, Harris recalled. Nor did he ever attempt to censor potentially embarrassing revelations of his past, including claims that he was violent towards his first wife that recurred in the recent book Conversations with Myself.Mandela did not seem worried about burnishing his reputation for posterity. He began writing a sequel to Long Walk to Freedom in 1998 but gave up three or four years later, Harris recalled. Nor did he ever attempt to censor potentially embarrassing revelations of his past, including claims that he was violent towards his first wife that recurred in the recent book Conversations with Myself.
New facts about Mandela are emerging all the time. In its response to his death the African National Congress issued a statement admitting for the first time that he was a member of the South African Communist party, which the SACP itself confirmed. The assertion had long been made by historians and academics but previously disputed by Harris and the centre of memory. New facts about Mandela are emerging all the time. In its response to his death the ANC issued a statement admitting for the first time that he was a member of the South African Communist party, which the SACP itself confirmed. The assertion had long been made by historians and academics but previously disputed by Harris and the centre of memory. "The question is an academic one," Harris said on Sunday. "Effectively he was acting as a member of the central committee of the SACP, and whether he was inducted and given a formal membership card is irrelevant. So why are we still making a big issue out of it?"
"The question is an academic one," Harris said on Sunday. "Effectively he was acting as a member of the central committee of the SACP and whether he was inducted and given a formal membership card is irrelevant. So why are we still making a big issue out of it?"
The centre has audio recordings of Mandela denying he ever belonged to the SACP. "The bottom line is that if he was a member of the Communist party then in the 90s he lied several times about it without having any compelling reason to do so."The centre has audio recordings of Mandela denying he ever belonged to the SACP. "The bottom line is that if he was a member of the Communist party then in the 90s he lied several times about it without having any compelling reason to do so."
Among the records whose release is most eagerly still awaited, Harris added, are Mandela's CIA files and papers held by the South African presidency.Among the records whose release is most eagerly still awaited, Harris added, are Mandela's CIA files and papers held by the South African presidency.
Outside Mandela's office is an exhibition about his life that was formally opened by president Jacob Zuma only last month. The artefacts on display include a fragment of the village hut in which he was born in 1918, his Methodist church membership card from 1933, a court indictment ("prisoner's name: Nelson Mandela; age: 44; race: Bantu"), a typed manuscript of his 1963 speech at the Rivonia trial, a letter smuggled out of Robben Island in his impeccably small and neat handwriting, his presidential briefcase, his Nobel peace prize and, less predictably, Calvin Klein and Vaseline toiletries salvaged from his private bathroom. Outside Mandela's office is an exhibition about his life that was formally opened by president, Jacob Zuma, only last month. The artefacts on display include a fragment of the village hut in which he was born in 1918, his Methodist church membership card from 1933, a court indictment ("prisoner's name: Nelson Mandela; age: 44; race: Bantu"), a typed manuscript of his 1963 speech at the Rivonia trial, a letter smuggled out of Robben Island in his impeccably small and neat handwriting, his presidential briefcase, his Nobel peace prize, and, less predictably, Calvin Klein and Vaseline toiletries salvaged from his private bathroom.
At the centre of the room is a glass replica of a prison cell on Robben Island that has more books – including biographies of Jan Smuts, Albert Luthuli, Abraham Lincoln and William Gladstone – and a flip calendar on which Mandela noted his departure from the island to Pollsmoor prison in 1982. At the bottom of the calendar is the slogan: "South Africa, land of golden sunshine."At the centre of the room is a glass replica of a prison cell on Robben Island that has more books – including biographies of Jan Smuts, Albert Luthuli, Abraham Lincoln and William Gladstone – and a flip calendar on which Mandela noted his departure from the island to Pollsmoor prison in 1982. At the bottom of the calendar is the slogan: "South Africa, land of golden sunshine."
Back in his office, visitors peered at his bookshelves and savoured the personal details that made him feel close. Takalani Ndou, 26, a software analyst, had driven here from the capital, Pretoria. "It's like he's with us, smiling down on us," she said. "It feels amazing. I can feel his greatness. It's sad to be here but also a wonderful feeling. His spirit is still with us."Back in his office, visitors peered at his bookshelves and savoured the personal details that made him feel close. Takalani Ndou, 26, a software analyst, had driven here from the capital, Pretoria. "It's like he's with us, smiling down on us," she said. "It feels amazing. I can feel his greatness. It's sad to be here but also a wonderful feeling. His spirit is still with us."
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