Nelson Mandela:neither sell-out nor saint

Nelson Mandela was the last of a great generation of freedom fighters who guided South Africa's liberation struggle from the early days of the African National Congress Youth League in the 1940s. South Africans have fond memories of these leaders - men and women such as Albertina and Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, Anton Lembede and Govan Mbeki - particularly in today's political climate, which is characterised by greed and rampant accumulation of wealth, often through corruption.

These people demonstrated the kind of morality and selflessness that is lacking in South African political life today. That is why Mandela was loved by the majority of South Africans, black and white. Each time he was taken ill, this outpouring of love came through clearly from radio talkshow callers and TV vox pops. But that love is not universal in South Africa.