Hon Speaker, hon Chairperson of the NCOP, His Excellency the Deputy President, the hon Acting Chief Justice, Justice Moseneke, hon Deputy Speaker, hon Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, hon premiers, members of the Mandela family and Sisulu family, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, fellow South Africans, it is with great awe that I stand here to say a few words after the passing away of the giant who was not only my leader in the ANC Youth League in the 1950s, but later a senior leader of our movement. I feel as overawed as I did when I stood up at Groutville to deliver the funeral oration at the funeral of my leader and mentor, iNkosi Albert Luthuli, at the request of his family and the excellent mission of the ANC.
Madiba was not only my leader but proved to be a real friend to me in all kinds of political weather that the country has gone through. Today, a nation mourns, the world mourns. The passing of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela closes a chapter in history that will be remembered as a time of struggle, freedom and great transformation. Yet, this chapter was only the preface, pointing towards the story that is yet to come.
As we continue to write the story of South Africa, let us be inspired by Mandela's legacy. Let us remember his passion for reconciliation, his capacity for forgiveness and his bold leadership. Let us also remember his honesty, which is what I want to talk about in my few minutes.
Mr Mandela's old-fashioned honesty was a value that my generation admired. I respected him for an admission he made in April 2002. He said:
We have used every ammunition to destroy Buthelezi and we have failed. He is still there. He is a formidable survivor. We cannot ignore him.
That admission, fellow South Africans, made many in his organisation quite unhappy. However, that was the kind of brutal frankness that positioned Mandela as a leader among his peers.
Even as a head of state, his honesty drove him to make admissions that few others at the helm of a country would dare to make. On 1 June 1995, standing at this podium, President Mandela spoke in this National Assembly about the Shell House massacre of 28 March 1994, in which eight civilians died when security at the ANC's headquarters opened fire. In total, 60 lives were lost and 300 were injured.
A year later, standing at this podium, in this Assembly, Mr Mandela said:
I gave instructions to our security that if they attacked the house, please you must protect that house - even if you have to kill people.
This admission that he himself had given the order distressed Mandela's comrades - I hear the murmurs which I expected. However, six days later he stood again in the National Assembly at this podium and reminded us all:
For reconciliation to have real meaning, the truth should be brought to light. As painful as it was for me to hear, my President's honesty about Shell House enhanced my admiration for him at the same time. He was a man of truth. Some people regard lying as a trademark of us politicians. He was not a petty politician like the rest of us; he was a great statesman.
I know that many still carry the wounds of Shell House and the multitude of wounds inflicted by the ANC's people's war. I too carry scars in my heart. However, there is a saying that has defined my life, and one that Mandela used to repeat as well: "The definition of a saint is a sinner who dies trying."
There is no one more deserving of forgiveness than Nelson Mandela, and few who epitomise forgiveness more. Now that the Lord has called him home, I urge those who carry wounds to forgive him. It is true, after all, that errare humanum est. In pouring out all the accolades that he richly deserves, let us also remember that he was a fallible human being like all of us. After all, even Christ the Son of God refused to receive the accolade that He was good. He said only God his Father could be called good.
Following the rupture between the IFP and the ANC in 1979, I endured vilification and pain. However, even at the height of the campaign to destroy me, Mr Mandela himself showed integrity, a very rare attribute these days.
In 1986 the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group visited South Africa to assess the situation under apartheid and met with Mr Mandela on Robben Island. His Excellency General Olusegun Obasanjo, the former head of state of Nigeria, later recounted to me that they asked Mandela who I was because they were hearing so much about me. Mandela answered, "Buthelezi is a freedom fighter in his own right." [Interjections.]
This was an expression of rare honesty as much as an expression of our friendship, which endured for as long as I knew him. He expressed his confidence in me time and again - we are all witnesses - as we served in a democratic government, appointing me as Acting President in his absence. He was not obliged to do that. That is why there are murmurings even now, because you did not like it, but he did it. That is the quality of the giant we are honouring today.
My only regret, as we prepare to inter the remains of our beloved Madiba, is that his long-pursued vision of reconciliation is not complete. He charged those who came after him to take up the cause of reconciliation. Yet, he enters eternity with this dream still unachieved.
The dishonoured agreement of 19 April 1994, signed by Mandela, Mr de Klerk and me, still haunts our efforts. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Sir, may I ask you a favour? May all the men please stand up? Ngicela amadoda onke asukume? Aah, Dalibhunga! [Ihlombe.] [May all men stand up? Aah, Dalibhunga! [Applause.]]