Graça Machel, former first lady of Mozambique and widow of erstwhile South African president Nelson Mandela, has described South Africa as at ‘war with itself’ but said that the spirit of her late husband would see the country pull through.
In a statement issued to commemorate the birthday of the iconic statesman on Sunday, she said: ’South Africa as a whole has been impoverished by this past week. Come Monday, thousands more of hard-working South Africans will have no job to go to, adding to our already astonishingly high unemployment rate. Businesses that are the backbone of our economy have suffered enormous setbacks.’
She said that Mandela would have been devastated by what is going on, but that he would be keeping an eye on the country from the hereafter.
She said: ‘I am sure that from up there where he is, he is watching this beloved country of his. And in his resolute determination, which has always guided us in the darkest hours of our history, he reminds us that we can overcome any challenge if we keep focus on what is just, what is right, and the unfinished work of what has to be done to bring us closer to an existence of dignity for us all.’
She called on South Africans to keep faith in the country and to draw strength from Mandela’s example. ‘Madiba’s leadership guides us in this moment. We must be courageous enough to interrogate and remedy the underlying causes of our discord,’ she said.