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Madiba spares a thought
18/07/2003 16:04 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Nelson Mandela celebrated his 85th birthday on Friday, distributing cake to disabled children as a military band played a march composed specially for him, and tributes poured in from around the globe.
The former South African president, smiling broadly and accompanied by his wife Graca Machel, emerged from the front gate of his Johannesburg home as the 35-member band played the "Madiba March" and "Happy Birthday" on brass instruments and bagpipes.
Later Mandela cut a birthday cake and offered portions to disabled children sponsored by his organisation the Nelson Mandela Foundation, before a flypast of one of South African Airways' new Airbus A340-600 passenger planes, which is to be named the "Nelson Mandela".
Birthday wishes galore
A team of chefs prepared 85 birthday cakes, while newspapers published special supplements and congratulations poured in from well-wishes including UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, former US president Bill Clinton and Anglican archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu.
The white-haired statesman told guests he was inspired by the birthday wishes received from around the world and, closer to home, from his own ruling African National Congress.
"If I have to live for another 85 years, it will be because of all the good wishes I have received from all over the world, but equally importantly from my own organisation," said Mandela, a Nobel peace prize laureate and a key fighter in the global battle against Aids.
"He (Mandela) is in great form. He has had a good night of rest and has been well fortified for the next two days of his birthday party," Mandela Foundation spokesperson John Samuel told AFP.
Well-wishers braved cold
Well-wishers began gathering at the Mandela home shortly after dawn, despite temperatures hovering just a few degrees above freezing. Some held banners reading "Happy Birthday" and "We love you Madiba", Mandela's Xhosa clan name.
Later Mandela met disabled and terminally ill children, including 10-year-old Nikita Dos Reis, who suffers from leukemia.
"I know of one of another Nikita who was one of the great presidents of the Soviet Union whose surname was Khrushchev, is your surname also Khrushchev?" Mandela quipped.
Mandela then kissed Modiehi Xaba, a four-year-old girl whom his wife Graca had been cradling in her arms, before cutting the cake, with Machel handing out the pieces.
"I wish he has a happy birthday, it has been my wish to meet him and tell him that," Dos Reis later told AFP.
Madiba March
Earlier, the military band commander and chief of the military health services, Lieutenant General Rinus van Rensburg, told AFP the march was especially composed for Mandela's birthday.
"This is the first time the 'Madiba March' is being played," he said.
"It is dedicated to the former president for what he has meant to us. He is the father of the nation."
The man who became a worldwide symbol for the struggle against apartheid in his decades behind bars on the notorious Robben Island - which today houses an apartheid museum - clapped enthusiastically as the last note of the march rang out.
His birthday will culminate with a high-profile banquet in Johannesburg on Saturday, where guests are to include Clinton, US talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Bono of the Irish rock band U2.
Mandela was released from jail in 1990, and was elected president in South Africa's first all-race elections in 1994.
In 1999, he handed over the presidency to Thabo Mbeki, but has not dropped off the political stage since then, making the battle against Aids, which is ravaging much of Africa, a key part of his life.
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- AFX
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