The arrest of former President Nelson Mandela , 56 years ago on this exact date, drastically changed the course of the struggle against apartheid.
Madiba’s arrest by apartheid security police at Tweedie in Howick in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands in 1962 was commemorated by a series of events on Sunday.
A five-kilometre walk near the capture site on the route Mandela’s car took on the fateful day. The arrest set in motion events which led up to the Rivonia Treason trial in 1963.
“Today I just wanted to walk for him and just remembering him and what he did for us,” says one of the participants.
“The walk was really fun and I learned a lot about Nelson Mandela,” adds another participant.
An Aston Westminster, identical to the car Mandela and fellow activist Cecil Williams were using when they were arrested, was unveiled at the capture site.
“It’s a vehicle we managed to find in East London. We restarted it and I drove it down here and it will be placed in the new museum behind us here,” says Director of the Aparthied Museum, Christopher Till.
The capture site has become a popular tourist attraction.
“It is very significant for our people, for the whole world, for the country but also for KwaZulu-Natal to know how rich heritage we have in this site. We started with nothing in this site and today this site is known in the whole world,” says KZN COGTA MEC, Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
Later this month, the annual Nelson Mandela marathon takes place from Pietermaritzburg to Howick to honour the statesman.
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