Nelson Mandela used a fake Ethiopian
passport to travel the world and drum up support for the anti-apartheid
movement. The passport was issued in 1962, under the false name David
Motsamayi, which he used to travel to across Africa and Europe.
Upon his return to South Africa he
was arrested and charged for this trip. During his time in Ethiopia it is
believed he received military training from the
Holeta Military Academy, Sherger Media reported.
“Ethiopia has always held a special
place in my own imagination and the prospect of visiting [it] attracted me more
strongly than a trip to France, England and America combined,” Mandela said.
“I felt I would be visiting my own
genesis, unearthing the roots of what made me an African. Meeting the emperor
himself would be like shaking hands with history.”
Mandela was later formally issued
with his first legal South African passport eight days after his release from
prison in 1990.
It was this passport, with his
second name “Rolihlahla” spelt incorrectly as “Rolilahla”, that he used to
embark on a tour of some of the African states that had supported the South
African liberation struggle, including Zambia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia.
Somalia is also said to have
provided passports to the African National Congress members during the fight
against the apartheid government . Current South African President Jacob Zuma
had a Somali passport.
SCROLL DOWN TO LEAVE A COMMENT
No comments:
Post a Comment