Things To Do in HowickMandela Capture Monument
Where? 5km from Howick, Natal Midlands, KwaZulu Natal
When? Daylight hours.
How much? Free
Overnight? Stay at accommodation in Howick, in KwaZulu Natal
If you didn’t already know this former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, was arrested on 5 August 1962 when traveling illegally from Durban to Johannesburg where he had met with the then ANC leader Albert Luthuli. Mandela was dressed in disguise as a driver when the police found him, this arrest led to his 27 year incarceration.
The spot where this occurred is on the R103 the old main road which is just 5km from Howick. This significant spot in South African history is now home to the breath taking Mandela Capture Monument.
The towering monument is a large sculpture that has been erected from 50 steel rods in varying lengths (between 5-10 metres in height). When you are looking at the sculpture from a certain angle the face of Nelson Mandela comes into focus. Marco Cianfanelli, the artist who created this work, explains that the vertical rods reflect the prison bars of Mandela’s confinement, but you are able to walk through these bars and you experience bursts of light in between which is representative of the political uprising of the country.
If you are heading in or out of Durban there is no reason not for you stop at this historic spot on the R102 and reflect on one of the most significant and turning points in the country’s history. The place where Madiba essentially said goodbye to his freedom for 27 years while setting the wheels into motion for South Africa’s freedom from Apartheid.
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