WELCOME TO THIS ONE NEWS SPECIAL, REMEMBERING THE LIFE OF A MAN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD. FREEDOM FIGHTER AND SOUTH AFRICA'S FIRST DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED LEADER, NELSON MANDELA, HAS DIED AGED 95 AT HIS HOME IN SOUTH AFRICA AFTER A LONG ILLNESS. THESE LIVE SHOTS SHOW THE CROWDS GATHERED OUTSIDE HIS HOME IN JOHANNESBURG. EARLIER, HIS DEATH WAS ANNOUNCED TO THE WORLD BY SOUTH AFRICA'S LEADER JACOB ZUMA. OUR BELOVED NELSON ROLIHLAHLA MANDELA, OUR BELOVED NELSON ROLIHLAHLA MANDELA, THE FOUNDING PRESIDENT OF OUR DEMOCRATIC NATION, HAS DEPARTED. HE PASSED ON PEACEFULLY IN THE COMPANY OF HIS FAMILY AROUND 20.50 ON THE 5TH OF DECEMBER 2013. HE IS NOW RESTING. HE IS NOW AT PEACE. OUR NATION HAS LOST ITS GREATEST SON. OUR PEOPLE HAVE LOST THEIR FATHER. SOUTH AFRICA'S PRESIDENT, JACOB ZUMA, THERE. HE ALSO SAID THERE WILL BE A FULL STATE FUNERAL FOR THE COUNTRY'S FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT. NELSON MANDELA SPENT 27 YEARS IN PRISON FOR HIS BELIEFS IN FREEDOM AND EQUALITY. THE BBC'S NICHOLAS WITCHELL TAKES A LOOK AT HIS EXTRAORDINARY LIFE. CHOIR SINGS NKOSI SIKELEL' IAFRIKA HIS STORY IS ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE OF ANY WORLD LEADER. FEW IN HISTORY HAVE ENDURED OPPRESSION WITH SUCH LITTLE RANCOUR OR OVERCOME THE OPPRESSOR WITH SUCH LITTLE BLOODSHED. I, NELSON ROLIHLAHLA MANDELA, DO HEREBY SWEAR TO BE FAITHFUL TO THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA. IN MAY 1994, NELSON MANDELA ` THE MAN WHITE SOUTH AFRICA HAD IMPRISONED FOR NEARLY 30 YEARS ` WAS SWORN IN AS THE COUNTRY'S FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT. THROUGH HIS DIGNIFIED AND COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP, THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS HAD BROKEN THE STRANGLEHOLD OF APARTHEID AND TRANSFORMED SOUTH AFRICA INTO A MULTIRACIAL DEMOCRACY. NELSON MANDELA WAS BORN IN 1918 IN SOUTH AFRICA'S EASTERN CAPE. HE WAS THE SON OF A TRIBAL CHIEF. HE QUALIFIED AS A LAWYER, AND, BY 1952, HE'D SET UP A LEGAL PARTNERSHIP WITH A MAN WHO WAS TO BE A LIFELONG FRIEND AND ALLY, OLIVER TAMBO. TOGETHER THEY CAMPAIGNED AGAINST APARTHEID, THE EXERCISE IN SOCIAL ENGINEERING UNDER WHICH SOUTH AFRICA'S WHITE MINORITY BRUTALLY CRUSHED THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND ASPIRATIONS OF THE BLACK MAJORITY. IN 1956, MANDELA WAS AMONG 156 POLITICAL ACTIVISTS TO BE CHARGED WITH HIGH TREASON. THE TRIAL LASTED MORE THAN FOUR YEARS BEFORE CHARGES WERE DROPPED. THE SHARPEVILLE MASSACRE IN 1960 FORCED THE ANC TO CHANGE STRATEGY. 69 PEOPLE DIED WHEN POLICE OPENED FIRE ON BLACK DEMONSTRATORS. THE ANC WAS OUTLAWED, MANDELA WENT UNDERGROUND AND PEACEFUL RESISTANCE BECAME A THING OF THE PAST. MANY PEOPLE FEEL THAT IT IS USELESS AND FUTILE FOR US TO CONTINUE TALKING PEACE AND NON-VIOLENCE AGAINST A GOVERNMENT WHOSE REPLY IS ONLY SAVAGE ATTACKS ON AN UNARMED AND DEFENCELESS PEOPLE. MANDELA UNDERTOOK A CAMPAIGN OF SABOTAGE AGAINST THE STATE. HE WAS EVENTUALLY ARRESTED AND CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT. AT HIS TRIAL HE MADE A THREE-HOUR SPEECH FROM THE DOCK. A TAPE OF IT WAS DISCOVERED LATER. THIS, HIS FINAL PLEA FOR FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY FOR ALL SOUTH AFRICANS, WAS TO ECHO DOWN THE 27 YEARS HE WAS TO REMAIN A POLITICAL PRISONER. SENTENCED TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT, HE WAS SENT TO ROBIN ISLAND, A TOP-SECURITY PRISON IN CAPE TOWN'S TABLE BAY. PHOTOGRAPHS OF MANDELA WERE BANNED FROM PUBLICATION. TO QUOTE HIM WAS AN OFFENCE. BUT, ASTONISHINGLY, HE WASN'T EMBITTERED BY HIS LONG IMPRISONMENT. WE SOON GRASPED THE FACT THAT WE WERE NOT CONDUCTING A STRUGGLE AGAINST INDIVIDUAL WHITES. WE WERE FIGHTING THE PRINCIPLE; FIGHTING WHITE DOMINATION. AND IN THE COURSE OF THAT STRUGGLE WE COULD EVEN FORM FRIENDSHIPS WITH PEOPLE FROM THE OTHER SIDE. OUTSIDE, TIME WAS RUNNING OUT FOR APARTHEID. WITH THE ANC LEADERSHIP IN JAIL, EVEN THE CHILDREN OF SOWETO WERE NOW HELPING TO SUSTAIN THE REVOLUTION. THE HARDLINE GOVERNMENT OF PW BOTHA TRIED TO CRUSH THE UPRISING, BUT, GRADUALLY, MORE LIBERAL WHITE PEOPLE BEGAN TO RECOGNISE THAT MANDELA WAS THE SOLUTION, NOT THE PROBLEM. # FREE # NELSON MANDELA. # AN INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN WAS BEGUN FOR THE RELEASE OF NELSON MANDELA AS, AROUND THE WORLD, GOVERNMENTS IMPOSED SANCTIONS ON SOUTH AFRICA. IN 1990, A COURAGEOUS WHITE LEADER, PRESIDENT FW DE KLERK, ANNOUNCED THAT THE ANC WOULD BE UNBANNED. THERE'S MR MANDELA. MR NELSON MANDELA. A FREE MAN, TAKING HIS FIRST STEPS INTO A NEW SOUTH AFRICA. THAT FEBRUARY, AFTER 27 YEARS OF IMPRISONMENT, NELSON MANDELA WALKED TO FREEDOM, WITH HIS THEN-WIFE WINNIE AT HIS SIDE. WORLDWIDE PRESSURE HAD BORNE FRUIT. BUT HOPE SOON TURNED TO DESPAIR. TOWNSHIP VIOLENCE LEFT BLACKS FIGHTING BLACKS. MANDELA REPEATEDLY APPEALED FOR PEACE. TAKE YOUR GUNS, YOUR KNIVES AND YOUR PANGAS, AND THROW THEM INTO THE SEA. IN 1994 MANDELA CAST HIS VOTE IN SOUTH AFRICA'S FIRST MULTIRACIAL ELECTIONS. MILLIONS ENJOYED THEIR FIRST TASTE OF DEMOCRACY. THE RESULT WAS A LANDSLIDE FOR THE ANC. NELSON MANDELA WAS PRESIDENT OF A NEW SOUTH AFRICA. THREE YEARS LATER, NELSON MANDELA GAVE UP THE PRESIDENCY OF THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS, IN FAVOUR OF SOUTH AFRICA'S VICE-PRESIDENT, THABO MBEKI, WHO ALSO SUCCEEDED HIM AS HEAD OF STATE. MANDELA WAS FETED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, AS HERE IN LONDON. BUT THERE'D BEEN PERSONAL SADNESS. HIS LONG-TIME MARRIAGE TO WINNIE, ONCE KNOWN AS THE MOTHER OF THE NATION, HAD ENDED. IN 1998, AT THE AGE OF 80, HE MARRIED GRACA MICHEL ` THE WIDOW OF THE LATE PRESIDENT OF MOZAMBIQUE. IT WAS A MARRIAGE WHICH BROUGHT HIM PERSONAL SADNESS AND HELPED HIM TO ENJOY SOME OF THE FAMILY LIFE IT WAS A MARRIAGE WHICH BROUGHT HIM PERSONAL HAPPINESS AND HELPED HIM TO ENJOY SOME OF THE FAMILY LIFE WHICH HIS LONG IMPRISONMENT HAD DENIED HIM. ON THE EVE OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM, NELSON MANDELA REVISITED THE CELL ON ROBIN ISLAND WHERE HE HAD SPENT NEARLY 20 OF THE 27 YEARS HE WAS IMPRISONED. HE LIT A CANDLE TO SYMBOLISE RECONCILIATION. IT WAS PASSED TO AN AFRICAN CHILD TO REPRESENT THAT CONTINENT'S HOPE FOR THE FUTURE ` A HOPE INSPIRED BY THE LIFE AND IDEALS OF ONE OF THE TRULY GREAT LEADERS OF OUR TIME, NELSON MANDELA. US PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA WAS AMONG THE FIRST TO PAY TRIBUTE, SAYING HE WAS AMONG THE COUNTLESS MILLIONS WHO'VE BEEN INSPIRED BY NELSON MANDELA. HE GAVE MORE THAN COULD BE EXPECTED OF ANY MAN. AND TODAY HE'S GONE HOME. WE'VE LOST ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL, COURAGEOUS AND PROFOUNDLY GOOD HUMAN BEINGS THAT ANY OF US WILL SHARE TIME WITH ON THIS EARTH. HE NO LONGER BELONGS TO US; HE BELONGS TO THE AGES. THROUGH HIS FIERCE DIGNITY AND UNBENDING WILL TO SACRIFICE HIS OWN FREEDOM FOR THE FREEDOM OF OTHERS, MADIBA TRANSFORMED SOUTH AFRICA AND MOVED ALL OF US. HIS JOURNEY FROM A PRISONER TO A PRESIDENT EMBODIED THE PROMISE THAT HUMAN BEINGS AND COUNTRIES CAN CHANGE FOR THE BETTER. AND, LIKE SO MANY AROUND THE GLOBE, I CANNOT FULLY IMAGINE MY OWN LIFE WITHOUT THE EXAMPLE THAT NELSON MANDELA SET. UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL BAN KI-MOON HAS ALSO PAID HIS RESPECTS TO THE FORMER SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT NELSON MANDELA. I AM PROFOUNDLY SADDENED BY THE PASSING OF NELSON MANDELA. NELSON MANDELA WAS A GIANT FOR JUSTICE AND A DOWN-TO-EARTH, HUMAN INSPIRATION. MANY AROUND THE WORLD WERE GREATLY INFLUENCED BY HIS SELFLESS STRUGGLE FOR HUMAN DIGNITY, EQUALITY AND FREEDOM. HE TOUCHED OUR LIVES IN DEEPLY PERSONAL WAYS. AT THE SAME TIME, NO ONE DID MORE IN OUR TIME TO ADVANCE THE VALUES AND ASPIRATIONS OF THE UNITED NATIONS. NELSON MANDELA SHOWED WHAT IS POSSIBLE WITHIN OUR WORLD AND WITHIN EACH ONE OF US IF WE BELIEVE THAT FREE MEN WALK TOGETHER FOR JUSTICE AND HUMANITY. HIS MORAL FORCE WAS DECISIVE IN DISMANTLING THE SYSTEM OF APARTHEID. REMARKABLY, HE MARCHED FROM 27 YEARS OF DETENTION WITHOUT RANCOUR, DETERMINED TO BUILD A NEW SOUTH AFRICA BASED ON DIALOGUE AND RECONCILIATION. I WAS PRIVILEGED TO MEET NELSON MANDELA IN FEBRUARY, 2009. WHEN I THANKED HIM FOR HIS LIFE'S WORK, HE INSISTED THE CREDIT BELONGED TO OTHERS. I WILL NEVER FORGET HIS SELFLESSNESS AND DEEP SENSE OF SHARED PURPOSE. ON BEHALF OF THE UN, I EXTEND MY DEEPEST CONDOLENCES TO NELSON MANDELA'S FAMILY, THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH AFRICA AND, INDEED, OUR GLOBAL FAMILY. LET US CONTINUE EACH DAY TO BE INSPIRED BY NELSON MANDELA'S LIFELONG EXAMPLE TO KEEP WORKING FOR A BETTER AND MORE JUST WORLD. WE'LL RETURN WITH OUR ONE NEWS SPECIAL REMEMBERING NELSON MANDELA SHORTLY. THESE LIVE PICTURES SHOW CROWDS GATHERED OUTSIDE MR MANDELA'S JOHANNESBURG RESIDENCE. WE'LL GO LIVE TO OUR CORRESPONDENT THERE AFTER THIS BREAK. WELCOME BACK TO THIS ONE NEWS SPECIAL REMEMBERING NELSON MANDELA. BLACK SOUTH AFRICANS VOTED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 1994, MARKING THE END OF ALMOST THREE CENTURIES DURING WHICH THEY WERE CLASSED AS INFERIOR CITIZENS. THE BBC'S JAMES ROBBINS WAS THERE FOR THE VOTE AND REPORTS NOW ON WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE. SOUTH AFRICAN FAMILIES OUT ENJOYING THEMSELVES. NOW, YOU MIGHT NOT THINK THERE'S ANYTHING UNUSUAL ABOUT THAT. BUT TO ME, WHO REPORTED FROM SOUTH AFRICA AT THE HEIGHT OF APARTHEID IN THE 1980S, THIS IS SOMETHING VERY EXTRAORDINARY. THIS WAS THEN A WHITES-ONLY SUBURB. I WAS REPORTING ON THE STRUGGLE AGAINST APARTHEID AND THE REGIME'S EXTRAORDINARILY BRUTAL RESPONSE TO ALL AND ANY OPPOSITION. IN THE YEARS SINCE THEN, AND SINCE NELSON MANDELA'S RELEASE, I'VE BEEN BACK SEVERAL TIMES, TALKING TO ORDINARY SOUTH AFRICANS ` BLACK AND WHITE ` ABOUT THE IMMENSE DIFFERENCE NELSON MANDELA MADE TO THEIR LIVES. AND THESE ARE SOME OF THEIR STORIES. ANTOINETTE PIETERSON IS STILL COMING TO TERMS WITH HER TERRIBLE LOSS AS A SCHOOLGIRL IN THE 1970S. LOOK AT HER SCREAMING GRIEF. IT'S JUNE 1976, AND HER 13-YEAR-OLD BROTHER HECTOR HAS JUST BEEN SHOT AND KILLED BY THE POLICE ` THE FIRST VICTIM OF THE SOWETO UPRISING. THIS MUSEUM OF APARTHEID IN SOWETO IS NAMED IN HECTOR PIETERSON'S HONOUR. SCHOOLCHILDREN LEARN THEIR VIOLENT AND DIVIDED HISTORY HERE. FOR SEVERAL YEARS, HECTOR'S SISTER ANTOINETTE CHOSE TO BE ONE OF THE GUIDES; TO CONFRONT HER OWN PAST EVERY DAY, AND HER GRIEF, AFTER YEARS OF TRYING TO BURY IT AND FAILING TO FACE IT. SHE SAYS NELSON MANDELA INSPIRED HER TO CHANGE. I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD TALK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED ON THE 16TH OF JUNE. I NEVER THOUGHT` COS EVERY TIME I SPOKE ABOUT IT, I JUST BECOME TRAUMATISED; YOU KNOW, CONFUSED. SO I SAID, 'BUT MANDELA WENT TO PRISON FOR 27 YEARS, 'AND HE KEPT ON GOING. WHY CAN'T I DO THE SAME?' NEXT, THE STORY OF HERMAN BAILEY. I MET HIM IN 2004. IN THE CAPE WINELANDS, THE MAYOR OF WELLINGTON IS SHOWING SOME OF THE RICHES OF SOUTH AFRICA TO THE JAPANESE AMBASSADOR ` DRUMMING UP BUSINESS FOR THE NON-RACIAL RAINBOW NATION WHICH NELSON MANDELA DID SO MUCH TO CREATE. UNDER APARTHEID HERMAN ` THEN CLASSIFIED AS CAPE COLOURED ` COULD NEVER HAVE BEEN MAYOR OF A WEALTHY TOWN RULED BY THE WHITE MINORITY. WELL, I THINK IT'S THE VALUES OF THE MAN, NELSON MANDELA. TO BE INCARCERATED ALL THOSE YEARS, AND TO COME OUT` AND IN HIS VERY FIRST SPEECH HE SAID, 'LET BYGONES BE BYGONES.' I THINK NO SOUTH AFRICAN WHO WAS AT THE TIME VERY INFLUENCED BY THE THEN-GOVERNMENT COULD HAVE BELIEVED THAT THIS WAS THE WORDS OF SOMEBODY WHO HAD BEEN INCARCERATED FOR SO LONG. NOW MEET CHRIS WESSELS ` ANOTHER PRISONER OF APARTHEID. THIS IS GENADENDAL, OR THE VALLEY OF GRACE ` FURTHER EAST IN THE CAPE. BACK IN 1738, IT WAS THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSION STATION IN SOUTH AFRICA. MUCH MORE RECENTLY, THIS IS A COMMUNITY WHICH RESISTED APARTHEID, CAUSING NELSON MANDELA TO NAME HIS CAPE TOWN HOME AFTER THE VILLAGE. CHRIS WESSELS WAS PASTOR OF THE CHURCH HERE. HE WAS IMPRISONED IN THE 1970S FOR DARING TO OPPOSE WHITE SUPREMACY. 69 DAYS IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT ALMOST KILLED HIM. NELSON MANDELA'S EXAMPLE KEPT HIM GOING. I JUST GOT THE FEELING THAT I WOULD NEVER COME OUT ALIVE. SITTING THERE WITH MY THOUGHTS, I THOUGHT` I WONDERED WHAT NELSON MANDELA WAS DOING AT THAT TIME, HAVING BEEN THERE FOR SO MANY YEARS, SEPARATED FROM HIS FAMILY. HOW HE COULD ENDURE SUCH TORTURE, TO BE SEPARATED FROM THE COMMUNITY FOR SO MANY YEARS. HERE I SAT FOR ONLY A FEW MONTHS, AND... AND YET IT WAS SO HARD. IT WAS SO DIFFICULT. IT WAS PRACTICALLY UNBEARABLE. AND THAT GAVE ME STRENGTH. HEDWIG VAN DER MERWE IS OUR LAST WITNESS TO NELSON MANDELA'S GREATNESS. IF YOU FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE, OR YOU HAVE DONE SOMETHING THAT... HEDWIG IS A SCHOOL TEACHER WHO USED TO BELIEVE NELSON MANDELA WAS A TERRORIST ` TO BE FEARED, NOT ADMIRED. HEDWIG VAN DER MERWE'S PUPILS WERE EXCLUSIVELY WHITE UNTIL THE MID 1990S. NOW SHE REJOICES IN THE CHANGE TO MULTIRACIAL EDUCATION. BUT BACK THEN SHE WAS REALLY SCARED WHEN NELSON MANDELA WAS FREED FROM PRISON. WAS IT GOING TO BE SAFE FOR SOUTH` FOR WHITE SOUTH AFRICANS? YOU KNOW, WILL WE BE ABLE TO MOVE AROUND THE WAY WE USED TO? ARE WE NOW GOING TO BE THROWN INTO JAIL, BECAUSE WE'RE WHITE? HE STARTED TALKING AND SORT OF REASSURED PEOPLE THAT THIS COUNTRY IS NOW GOING TO WORK TOGETHER AND THERE'S NEVER, EVER, GOING TO BE A THING LIKE APARTHEID IN SOUTH AFRICA. THAT SET OUR MINDS AT REST. THE STORIES OF JUST A HANDFUL OF SOUTH AFRICANS WHO LIVED THROUGH THE WORST OF TIMES. THERE ARE THOUSANDS, PROBABLY MILLIONS OF OTHER SOUTH AFRICANS WHO HAVE SIMILAR STORIES TO TELL. AND THEY HELP EXPLAIN WHY NELSON MANDELA WAS SUCH A HERO ` NOT THE ONLY HERO, BUT A GIANT OF HIS AGE. AND TO SEE HIS LEGACY ` WHATEVER THE PROBLEMS THAT STILL CONFRONT SOUTH AFRICA ` TO SEE THE NEW, FREE SOUTH AFRICA, YOU JUST HAVE TO LOOK AROUND. WE'LL NOW GO LIVE TO SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE LATEST ON REACTION THERE TO THE DEATH OF NELSON MANDELA. JOINING US NOW IS OUR CORRESPONDENT, GRIFFIN SHEA. MR MANDELA HAD BEEN ILL FOR SOME TIME. DESPITE THAT, NO DOUBT THERE'S STILL A SENSE OF SHOCK THERE? That's right. South Africans have been watching his health very closely since he was hospitalised in June. People have been passing by his home bringing flowers, lighting candles and singing songs in tribute. His death ends a remarkable chapter. How will South Africa cope without his symbolic leadership? South Africa have had a chance to get used to the idea of the no longer being in public life. He has been retiring from public life in recent years. He has not been seen in public since the 2010 World Cup. The big thing is recovering from a loss of his 'magic' ` his ability to unite the country. One of the few people in politics South Africans could unite around. The big challenge is finding someone who can inspire the same authority and devotion. PLEASE STAY WITH US FOR THIS ONE NEWS SPECIAL COMMEMORATING THE LIFE OF NELSON MANDELA, THE MAN WHO FREED SOUTH AFRICA. THESE LIVE PICTURES FROM MR MANDELA'S JOHANNESBURG HOUSE. THE MAN CONSIDERED BY MANY TO THE FATHER OF SOUTH AFRICA IS BEING MOURNED TONIGHT. WELCOME BACK TO THIS ONE NEWS SPECIAL REMEMBERING NELSON MANDELA. NELSON MANDELA WAS A FIGURE OF GLOBAL INFLUENCE. SHORTLY AFTER HIS RELEASE FROM PRISON, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS LINED STREETS AND STADIUMS AROUND THE US WHEN THE ANTI-APARTHEID LEADER VISITED. THE ABC'S BRIAN PITT REPORTS. JUST FOUR MONTHS AFTER HE WAS SET FREE FROM PRISON IN 1990, NELSON MANDELA SET FOOT IN AMERICA FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME ` AN EIGHT-CITY TOUR STARTING IN NEW YORK. IT WAS MAGICAL. IT WAS AS IF MALCOLM AND MARTIN WERE STILL ALIVE AND THE METS HAD WON THE WORLD SERIES ALL IN NEW YORK, ALL IN ONE DAY. MANDELA SPOKE AT YANKEE STADIUM. YOU NOW KNOW WHO I AM. I AM A YANKEE. CROWD CHEERS FOR MANY, THEN AS NOW, IT WASN'T SO MUCH MANDELA'S ORATORY SKILLS BUT THE AURA OF HIS STORY THAT INSPIRED ` A STORY SO FAMILIAR AND INTERTWINED WITH AMERICA'S PAST AND STILL SO VERY PAINFUL. ALL CHANT THE ANTI-APARTHEID PROTESTS OF THE '80S CAPTIVATED A NEW GENERATION ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES AND COMMUNITIES. ALL SING: # NO MORE APARTHEID AMIDST THE DEMONSTRATIONS DEMANDING DIVESTMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA HERE WAS THE ONGOING VIOLENCE THERE IN TOWNSHIPS LIKE SOWETO. IT TOOK THE STORY OF ONE MAN TO HELP AMERICA BETTER UNDERSTAND THE STRUGGLE OF ONE NATION. MANDELA REMINDED THE WORLD RECONCILIATION WAS MORE POWERFUL THAN REVENGE; FORGIVENESS IS A GIFT TO BE GIVEN. THE BOLDNESS OF HIS VISION HUMBLED THE POWERFUL IN AMERICA. SO DIDN'T YOU HATE THOSE PEOPLE EVEN WHEN THEY LET YOU GO? HE SAID, 'BRIEFLY, I DID, 'BUT WHEN I WAS WALKING OUT OF MY COMPOUND FOR THE LAST TIME, 'I SAID TO MYSELF, "THEY'VE HAD YOU 27 YEARS. '"IF YOU HATE THEM WHEN YOU GET THROUGH THAT DOOR, '"THEY WILL STILL HAVE YOU."' AND THE FAMOUS. IF YOU CAN PROCEED THROUGH LIFE WITH JUST A PORTION OF NELSON MANDELA'S HUMILITY, YOU WILL BE A HUGE SUCCESS. THE AUDACITY OF MANDELA'S RISE ALSO INSPIRED A YOUNG POLITICIAN FROM ILLINOIS. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA VISITED MANDELA'S PRISON CELL ON ROBBEN ISLAND WHEN HIS OWN DESTINY WAS BUT A DREAM. SO BACK THEN, THERE WAS LITTLE WONDER WHY WATCHING A 71-YEAR-OLD MAN DANCE COULD PLEASE SO MANY PEOPLE. IT WAS THE WALK THAT PRECEDED IT. DURING HIS VISIT TO BOSTON 23 YEARS AGO, I MET MR MANDELA EVER SO BRIEFLY. THERE WAS TIME FOR ONE QUESTION. MR MANDELA, I ASKED, WHAT IS THE ONE THING IN LIFE YOU KNOW FOR SURE? WITH THAT ELEGANT SMILE, HE ANSWERED, 'GOOD AND EVIL ARE ALWAYS AT WAR. GOOD MEN MUST CHOOSE.' CHEERING WITH DEFIANCE AND DIGNITY IN EQUAL MEASURE, NELSON MANDELA CHOSE, AND AMERICA LOVED HIM FOR IT. ALL CHANT: MANDELA. MANDELA. BACK HERE, SILVER FERN NETBALLER IRENE VAN DYK SAYS MR MANDELA'S DEATH WILL LEAVE A HUGE HOLE IN SOUTH AFRICA. SHE MET HIM IN 1995 WHEN SHE WAS STILL PLAYING NETBALL FOR THE SOUTH AFRICAN SIDE, AND HE PRESENTED HER WITH A SPORTS AWARD. IT'S JUST BEING IN HIS PRESENCE, YOU KNOW? IT MAKES YOU FEEL 10FT TALL AND BULLETPROOF. HIS CHARISMA, HIS CHARM, YOU KNOW, HIS HUMBLENESS. HE WAS JUST INCREDIBLE. I THINK THAT IS THE ONLY PERSON IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD THAT WILL HAVE THE RESPECT OF BOTH THE BLACKS, THE WHITES, THE COLOUREDS ` ANY RACE IN SOUTH AFRICA. HE IS THE ONE THAT WILL HAVE THE RESPECT OF EVERYONE. HE IS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT YOU THINK WAS GONNA LIVE FOREVER, AND I THINK HIS LEGACY WILL DEFINITELY LIVE FOREVER. THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE WERE AT THE PREMIERE OF A FILM CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF NELSON MANDELA WHEN THE NEWS OF HIS DEATH BROKE. THE ROYAL COUPLE WERE TOLD OF THE ANTI APARTHEID LEADER'S DEATH AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE SCREENING. PRINCE WILLIAM OFFERED HIS CONDOLENCES AS THE COUPLE LEFT THE THEATRE. I JUST WANT TO SAY, IT'S OBVIOUSLY EXTREMELY SAD AND TRAGIC NEWS. WE'RE JUST REMINDED OF WHAT AN EXTRAORDINARY AND INSPIRING MAN NELSON MANDELA WAS, AND MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH HIM AND HIS FAMILY RIGHT NOW. THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION THE FILM BE STOPPED WHEN WORD OF MR MANDELA'S DEATH WAS ANNOUNCED. BUT HIS DAUGHTERS ZINDZI AND ZENANI MANDELA, WHO WERE AT THE PREMIER, ASKED FOR THE FILM TO CONTINUE, SAYING THAT'S WHAT THEIR FATHER WOULD HAVE WANTED. ONE NEWS AT 6 IS COMING RIGHT UP. WE'LL LEAVE YOU FOR JUST A MOMENT WITH THE 1984 SONG BY BRITISH BAND THE SPECIALS, WHICH BECAME THE RALLYING CRY TO FREE THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS POLITICAL PRISONER. # FREE NELSON MANDELA. # FREE, FREE, FREE NELSON MANDELA. # FREE NELSON MANDELA. # FREE NELSON MANDELA. # 21 YEARS IN CAPTIVITY. # HIS SHOES TO SMALL TO FIT HIS FEET. # HIS BODY ABUSED, BUT HIS MIND IS STILL FREE. # ARE YOU SO BLIND THAT YOU CANNOT SEE? I SAY... # FREE NELSON MANDELA. # FREE NELSON MANDELA. # I'M BEGGING YOU. # FREE NELSON MANDELA. #