27 years on‚ Mandela's final prison marks his release

After 27 years behind bars‚ Nelson Mandela walked to freedom almost 27 years ago.

To mark the anniversary‚ on February 11 next year‚ Drakenstein Correctional Services is planning a “27 for Freedom” series of events‚ culminating in a 27km run.

Jeremy Matheyse‚ director of the former Victor Verster Prison where Mandela spent his final years of imprisonment‚ said the festival would include sporting‚ literary‚ art and photography events‚ as well as a memorial lecture by Mandela’s prison comrades Denis Goldberg and Ahmed Kathrada.

“This event is in honour of our great statesman and the father of our democracy‚ and is organised from the place of his release in the hope that ordinary South Africans will come together and commit to carrying that legacy forward‚” said Matheyse.

“Some of the proceeds of the event will be distributed between a number of charitable organisations in and around the Drakenstein area‚ keeping the idea of helping those around you alive.”