Nelson Mandela votes for the first time

Moments in South African History

Nelson Mandela was already 75 years old when he voted for the first time in his life on the 27th of April 1994. On that day, black and white South Africans were finally allowed to stand in the same queue to elect a government of their choice. Mandela's decision to vote at the Ohlange High School at Inanda, north of Durban, was historically and politically strategic. The school was founded by the ANC's first president and located in a province that had been torn apart by political violence between the ANC and the IFP. Mandla Zembe retraces some of Nelson Mandela's footsteps to and from Ohlange High.

Credits: Ismail Jinnah, Elize van der Walt, Sikhumbuzo Mabizela, Sandile Ngidi, Angie Kapelianis and Danny Booysen.

© SABC 2020. No unauthorised use, copying, adaptation or reproduction permitted without prior written consent of the SABC.