Nelson Mandela Foundation chairperson Professor Njabulo Ndebele said he hoped that the sixteenth annual Nelson Mandela Lecture, being held on Tuesday at Bidvest Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, would allow South Africans to draw strength as well as “find a Madiba in us”.

As one of the speakers of the event, themed ‘Renewing the Mandela legacy and promoting active citizenship in a changing world’, Ndebele said he was happy that finally late stalwart and activist Ahmed Kathrada’s dream was coming true.  

"He was always pushing for an annual lecture to be held in a stadium. Finally, his wish came true,"said Ndebele.

Chairperson of the Motsepe Foundation Patrice Motsepe said he felt the spirit of Madiba in the venue as his legacy was celebrated.

The Motsepe Foundation has partnered with the Nelson Mandela Foundation to make the event honouring Madiba a great success.

Motsepe appreciated the presence of former US President Barack Obama whom he says was always one of the leaders close to Madiba.

“1994 was deeply emotional for South Africans when Nelson Mandela was inaugurated. I remember Precious and I shared a tear on the day because we didn’t believe that one day he would take an oath and liberate all of us,” said Motsepe.

The Motsepe Foundation has recently announced that it would host the Global Citizen Festival in December in further celebration of Madiba’s centenary.