Did Nelson Mandela Betray South Africans??

why black intellectuals remain subordinated to white intellectuals why it is like that what is this that the white person has in order it can never be equal with the black person [Music] All over Africa not only in South Africa all our leaders have been defeated by the white intellectuals Hands down Even [Music] Mandela you cannot negotiate for your people and negotiate against your people Do you feel like he negotiated against these people what do we have as black people look at [Music] us Look at us What do we have what is this that we have won the property right to steal with the white people I sacrifice my family my parents I didn't listen to my parents because I wanted the people of South Africa to be literally free Do you feel like Mandela betrayed you guys uh if you ask me I will say yes I don't regret fighting for the people for the liberation of the people of our country I don't regret even if another revolution can start now at this old age I am I will be the first one in the front line because I know that we have been sold Who sold you welcome to the mother city of South Africa Cape Town to be precise What a gorgeous beautiful city But hey you cannot visit this beautiful city without visiting the most famous island in the entire world The island that kept so many political prisoners such as the father of this beloved nation Nelson Mandela [Music] said that on on Robin Island they only kept only one political prisoner And who is who is that political prisoner robert Mangaliso Subuka Not Mandela No So Robin Island is just 30 minutes by board off the coast of Cape Town Hope you're going to have a good time cry a lot Oh wow It's something that is going to make me [Music] cry Finally made it to Robin Island The island where prison was built I believe anytime you hear the name Robin Island the first name that comes into your mind is Nelson Mandela But after being here I believe that there is more to Robin Island So the first question is what is Robin Island and what happened on Robin Island uh Robin Island It was a lepony fest I think after some deliberation with the with the white government they decided to turn this island into a prison to keep prisoners So now in other words I will call Robin Island a place of resistance islands around the world was always deemed to be ideal dumping grounds or imprisons Um in this case Robin Island was also deemed a prison From the time the Dutch East Indian company passed the Cape looking for food and fresh water um the island was identified as an important space Food fresh water was found here um in terms of seals penguin seabirds By the way the name Robin is a Dutch word for seals It was in abundance But one one uniqueness of the island was that they found the island uninhabited by man And with that it left the perception that the man of the Cape had to be univilized no idea on how to use a sea And when the Dutch eventually took over in 1652 with a perception that the man over there had no clue on how to use a sea they thought this could be a perfect jail This is how Ochumatu or Ochumau became the first recorded prisoner That was 1658 He builds a boat and by 1659 he was the first successful escapee In other words islands like Robin Island was always the ideal prisons a space for the out of mind the out of sight to society And history will just show how this island was used as a place of imprisonment up until uh 1996 It started in the 18 something with the makanas and all other leaders who resisted colonization of the white people in South Africa So in short Robin Island is more like a political treason Yes for anyone who go against the government The government Yes I am here to educate myself and I'll use this platform to educate you all in your various houses But I'm super excited that my tour guide for today will actually be one of the former political prisoners on this beautiful island because I believe that his voice will be authentic and echoed in our ears just like what happened in the past Uh my name is Africa Shapu and I will be the one who will be talk guiding you inside prison here and I am a former prisoner here in this prison When we were brought on Robin Island we were escorted by a w from the harbor there up until here When that water arrives here he will knock three times for the water to open here and the water will receive us The one outside will return back to the harbor How long were you sentenced in here uh I was sentenced to 45 years imprisonment but the sentence had to run concurrently So effectively I was doing 20 years So how long did how long did you stay in Robin Island robin Island I spent 11 years 11 years here on Robin Island Were you here when Mandela was here no when when Mandela was here Mandela was already transferred to Portmo Prison Uh this was the admin administration block of the prison That's where the planning and the decision making concerning prisoners was done And then here it's an armory room That's where all arms were kept the R4 the R5s for any event that there's an uprising in in prison they will take those arms and use them to prisoners Yes As I have told you that the water that receives us from the the the first store he's the one who will put us bring us to the reception When we are here at the reception we will be told that uh we must strip all our clothes off and we will be told to stand naked as we [Music] are Then a water will have a pen and a book and check whatever defects that are in your body And if those defects are not found they will still report it in the book there But what is happening after that you'll be registered at at reception You'll be given a prison card You'll be given a prison number not the number of uh prison You'll be given here the Rogan Island [Music] number And then here it's our study office We were allowed to study at Robin Island but we were constantly reminded by the authorities that education in prison it's not a right but a privilege So therefore whenever the head of prison wants to remove or take your studies away he will do so without being questioned [Music] And then here uh it's a center office All our internal communications were controlled here and our external communication were controlled here You're talking about communication by intern letters that we write from from there They all before they go out they must come here People who were working here were the security forces the intelligence guy and the water Why if ever anything that is incriminating against you is found in your letter or in anybody's letter you prisoner you will be charged and the possibility of a death sentence you might get through the letter that you wrote You ever witness a death sentence there are many who were sentenced to death from Robin Island to Ptori Uh here it's our hospital The doctor will come once or once a month to come and examine us But uh what happened some comrades they went out of this prison being uh mentally imbalanced and some of them they were given a medication that made them [Music] zombies And we were all aware that this is one of the tactics of the apatate system that is being applied to political prisoners with the purpose of demoralizing them May you please follow me further the charges that were leveled against me It was uh conspiracy uh public violence terrorism and two counts of murder How old were you when you were brought to Robin Island uh let's say when I was arrested Yeah When you were arrested i was arrested at the age of 20 years Wow I joined the struggle at the age of 16 years And then since I joined the struggle at that age I've never turned back again And up until the negotiation time So you kept here for 11 years Yes for something that you did not know Were you a terrorist no I was not So you you literally spent 11 years of your life in here for something that you did not do Uh we were fighting Yes For the We were fighting That's your right to fight for your people Yes But now you remember that when they classify you when they arrest you they classify you as a terrorist You see how was the how was the situation like when you found yourself in here uh when I found myself here I was prepared for any probabilities death or whatever because I knew that why did I came to Robin Island because of the just cause and being led by Oliver Tam I had a hope that we will be free and indeed Oliver Tambo pushed so much that we went to negotiations table [Music] The two photos that you see here these photos were taken in the 60s secretly So these photos find their place at the United Nation The South African government became so shocked to see these photos at the United Nation And that was the time when the South African government was expelled from the United Nation because of its inhuman system of appetite How will you describe the conditions in here during appetite during apartate time the conditions here were very horrible How horrible horrible in a such a way that in the 60s uh the Mandelas and all other prisoners who were here they were physically beaten by the uh by the wers here There were two two vicious slain ants brothers who once beaten a comrade in the quarry there and what they did they dug a hole for that comrade and put that comrade in that hole up until to the next level after they've done that they urinated in his face both brothers they urinated in another man's face So that uh forced the prisoners to enter into a hunger strike While they were on the hunger strike because the authorities they feared to be exposed internationally Prisoners demanded that the plains brothers be expelled from Robin Island And indeed those two brothers they were taken away from Robin Island and they never came uh back here again Why black intellectuals remain subordinated to white intellectuals i believe um self-belief is missing in Africa Yes All our leaders have been defeated by the white intellectuals Hands down Even Mandela H You cannot negotiate for your people and negotiate against your people Do you feel like he negotiated against his people what do we have as black people look at us Look at us What do we have look at the constitution Do you believe that there should be a constitutional reform in South Africa exactly A total change of the constitution A total change It's needed We we don't have a land This is your land We don't have an economy The economy is in the few hands up until now Would you say that South Africa is free it's [Music] not South Africa is not still a long way Maybe what has come up if it is not harnessed properly it is going to be an anarchic revolution in South Africa If it is not harnessed properly there's going to be an anarchic revolution That is why it needs to be properly harnessed by the soberminded leadership We don't hate white people but it is unfair for them to take everything the minds and everything and force our leaders to deny that even freedom charter had the part that talks about nationalization and the leader says that there is nothing of that sort What is that type of a thing that's why I wish it sometimes to die than seeing what I see because this is not what I fought for I alone this is not what I fought for The present leaders are all enemy agents These people infiltrated the from exile That's why it is like [Music] this Here's Nelson Mandela cell This is Nelson Mandela cell Yes Nelson Mandela spent 18 years of his 27 years in the cell One of the things that is difficult for me to comprehend is that we spent such a long time here And uh there were uh moments of joy but of course uh there were painful moments uh because the aparted regime was uh on expert in persecuting uh people psychologically [Music] May I ask you a question how was that tall man sleeping in this cell just look at the cell Enter inside Probably has to pull his legs on the wall Sleeping like this He must sleep diagonal He can't sleep straight [Music] The head must be in the corner And other legs must face this side So what was he sleeping on is it is it like original state Here Yeah This is Yeah On top of that The the information we get we sometimes get from this social media and we got shock and we sometimes you don't know whether to believe this or not to believe it I for one Africa couple who can die at any time at any moment I am saying we are not free What is the kind of freedom that you're looking for for the country the kind of freedom that we're looking for is the collective life of our people No one must go hungry in this country In the country that is so rich South Africa is rich of minerals and all its minerals are not being controlled by the people of this country are controlled away The gold goes here to Queen Elizabeth There he's keeping the gold in his house there her house And the gold goes to America and comes back very expensive to you I don't wear this is the cell I slept when I was here at P section In that cell it was Wilton Muay and then further down here it was Tabo's father Governor Blade I I I'll always hold Governor Begi at the highest esteem because Governor Begi gave me a very good short lesson that he said to me You know what you must respect leaders but never be dosai to any leader of the movement That simply means don't agree to anything Even if you see this leader is wrong you must say yes When the leader has money you must say yes But your people are dying because the leader is a billionaire Uh never it can't I came I sacrifice my education I sacrifice my whole being for the people not for myself I sacrificed my family my parents I didn't listen to my parents because I wanted the people of South Africa to be literally free You don't come with intellectual terminology to me and tell me that this cannot be implementable While we were fighting this was our policy document freedom charter Then at the end of the day you tell me that it's no longer implemented because you're negotiating Uh are you saying that the negotiations never help the black people of South Africa no not at all There's nothing from the negotiations that help the people of Let them give you evidence What is this why people are still in the bar lands where they cannot produce nothing [Music] why people are still crammed in the 13% of the land and the whole other percentage is within the white hands This western camp that I'm talking about sooner or later it's going to become an independent country How do you as a leader agree to that allowing one of your provinces to become an independent country just like Orana That's what Mandela agreed to that now Western Cape is coming Helen Zil wants an independent Western Cape to become an independent country Do you feel like Mandela betrayed you guys uh if you ask me I will say yes [Music] You know what the white people did they separated the elite from the masses the downro and masses of our people And they gave them everything So when it is only the the elite that is free that doesn't mean the entire country is free Do you do you regret fighting for your people i Yeah thank you for that question I don't regret fighting for the people for the liberation of the people of our country I don't regret even if another revolution can start now at this old age I am I will be the first one in the front line because I know that we have been sold Who sold you they know those who sold [Music] us They know they know exactly we're not free If you say you are free you are from Ghana Yes Compare Ghana and South Africa Now go to the townships and see what is happening If you want to see the the the nature of our people go to the townships and go around this South Africa and tell me how many squatters of white people in South Africa Squatter camps how many are there how many buries you know a buri a hobo How many white hobos you will find in in South Africa go the entire country It's a fraction The majority is the black people What many might not understand is that the aparate government didn't regard Nelson Mandela and others kept in that jail as political other than criminal because according to them they had broken the law of the country The court of law found them guilty and therefore they were sentenced to jail But Robert Sukwa who started a political movement in 1959 called the Panaffricanist Congress embarked on a defiance campaign where he called on the masses to defy the pass law A law that restricted the movement of black people It was a document that gave them permission to be where they are at that time of the day Even if you had a visitor in your house she said you'd have to report them to the police station They would tell you how long your visitor could stay Sharpville's residents gathered peacefully in front of the police station without those passbooks Their objective to be arrested But police opened fire shooting protesters in the back as they ran for their lives a day the world got to know as the day of the shop massacre when 69 people shot and killed by police in front of a police station He was arrested He was charged He was found guilty for incitement and he was sentenced to 3 years He served it out in Johannesburg But it was also a time when the party government was trying to suppress and uprise by banning political movements changing legislation By 1962 Robin Anid became the jail You saw it But in the midst of all of this this man was about to complete a prison sentence But by now he became the leader of one of the most powerful movements of that time And instead of releasing him parliament passed a special legislation known as the Supqu This allowed them to rearrest this man when released and place him under house arrest They could confine him to an area isolate him no one to talk to besides himself He was classified as a political prisoner which allowed him to wear his own clothes have books of his choice Instead of doing hard labor he could move around freely within the space What was supposed to be a one-year house arrest became six years Today Robert Sabuk for many South Africans is a name they find against a building A name the road was named after And so many people and I think I include you have never ever heard about this name before No There's something about the apartheid government that they were good in and that was to keep information away from South Africans What we heard what we saw what we read what was preached what was taught in schools was approved by government H so we didn't want you to know something would never know about it So you released in the year 19 1991 on the 24th of May We were the last group to be released from prison The political activist um were all released um between 1989 and 1991 The last remaining political activist was released from Robin Island or taken off the island on the 27th of April 1991 Ironically 27th April uh also became the day when we voted in 1994 and is also now recognized as freedom day in South Africa How was the feeling like the day you got released uh the the the feeling when I got released I wanted to continue the struggle just like Christian wanted to continue the struggle up until we attain our freedom But unfortunately some leaders they knew what they knew They pushed for the negotiations They had to negotiate with bad movements and in the case of how they deem these guys criminals So the question is how do you negotiate with these guys so it had to lead to them releasing these guys for talks to stop which they did and the talk starts led to our elections Nelson Mandela became president Part came to an end A new constitution you know becomes one of the most progressive constitution in the world And many of the apart government ministers and members of the apart government said you know these guys came out of jail and they were prepared The reality is when you decided to use this island as a jail you decided to throw cultures languages religions different political movements into one space and then to keep the leaders together And what did you think they were going to talk about so by preparing yourself for freedom not waiting for freedom to come the disadvantage of prison was turned into an advantage Are you happy for what you fight for what you fought for the results of what I fought for I am totally not happy I can never be happy with such because what I fought for I fought for the implementation of the freedom charter which is which is are those 10 crosses that are there the nationalization of the minds the national the nationalization of reserve bank everything that we are supposed to serve the people of the And on 11th of February 1995 1,200 former prisoners returned And imagine you're standing in this quarry now You came back to this jail where you dreamed about freedom You talked about it and you're standing here as a member of parliament as a minister as an uh ambassador as Nelson Mandela president of South Africa And the conclusion of this reunion was supposed to be simple protocol conclusion President Mandela will greet He will leave But as he was walking out he picks up a stone and got to this point stood what looked like a moment of reflection and laid the stone down And every other former prisoner followed one after the other Today in many ways we can look at the stone and say that prisoner that Africa came here as an individual He would have differed be it culture language religion but the reason why he was here he fought one enemy called apart And today this pile of stones is our monument of the triumph of the human spirit of adversity the triumph of the human spirit of of lots [Music] Every day I load people on the harbor and there you have 45 50 people sitting in a big bus and then you ask where you from and it's England it's you know this country it's that country and you now realize that every day I have people with different cultures languages religions political understanding sitting in one space Then the flame of this monument continues to burn with every journey that comes pass in through this island [Music] [Music]