Nelson Mandela's life was one with multiple implications. His life conditions changed, and he altered as a human being at various phases of his life. He spoke of undergoing a series of journeys. Part one of a five-part series on Nelson Mandela's leadership.

Nelson Mandela's life was one with multiple implications. His life conditions changed, and he altered as a human being at various phases of his life. He spoke of undergoing a series of journeys. Part one of a five-part series on Nelson Mandela's leadership.

Celebrated as Nelson Mandela is, his life and its interpretation have evoked much controversy. It is a good antidote to confront and engage with the controversies, and not treat the meanings of Mandela's life as being "obvious" or make references to his being a global "icon" as if that constitutes an evaluation.

If we are to learn from Mandela, we need to engage with what he did, how he exercised leadership and what considerations he had in mind.

This series of articles, comprising revised versions of earlier academic and media articles, attempts to address and interpret some of these qualities. It is not suggested that this is the last word on the subject. I hope that many others will engage and take the debate further.

Leaders need to act in the present but with some sense of the future

One of the features of being a leader, especially one who is a freedom fighter, is that one...