#RememberMandela: How to turn the world's greatest legacy into a farce

Nelson Mandela left us once before, in 1964, for 27 years. During that time, he was omnipresent in our lives, a symbol of hope that freedom would one day come to South Africa. His image, words and deeds energised the liberation struggle, when little else could. He was kept alive in the country and abroad by millions of people committed to the common mission to defeat Apartheid and by his organisation, the African National Congress – all in defiance of the regime that kept him locked away. Now, a year after his death, Mandela has faded out of South African life. His legacy is being squandered. And the anniversary of his death will become just another charade. By RANJENI MUNUSAMY.