CAPE TOWN – 30th Anniversary Of Mandela Prison Release. 11th February marks the 30th anniversary of Nelson Mandela‘s release from Jail. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa marked this event with an address. He addressed the nation from the spot where Mandela made his first speech after walking out of prison.
On February 11, 1990, Mandela had spoken from here to euphoric crowds, hours after his release after 27 years in prison. It was indeed Mandela’s first major speech as a free man and a key moment in South Africa‘s rebirth as white-minority rule crumbled.
President Ramaphosa spoke from the City Hall balcony in Cape Town, in front of a giant statue of Mandela. “The world will forever remember that as one of the most memorable days in history. 30th Anniversary Of Mandela Prison Release.
“It was indeed an exhilarating moment, Ramaphosa told thousands of people who had gathered at the venue. Mandela was released that day. And Apartheid was dead and finished that very day and we all knew that. It was a moment where the world literally stood still. “He stood here to speak and I held the microphone as he spoke for the very first time,” said Ramaphosa.