On June 21, 2011, one of South Africa’s big four banks threw a party at Killarney Country Club in Johannesburg. So, being the jet setter that I am (not!), of course I was invited!
The reason for the event was to bring some of the bank’s clients together for a cocktail or two and the chance to meet a few of South Africa’s icons as they celebrated 21 years of freedom for Mr Mandela (there is only one Mandela I could possibly be referring to here).
Was it a marketing gimmick? Who cares - it was fabulous! Everyone enjoyed themselves tremendously. For me, the speech by John Kani, SA-born award winning actor, regaling us about his experience with the apartheid security forces, clinched it. He was apparently called in to have tea with the bank’s branch manager after depositing an amount exceeding R1 000 (apartheid-SA’s brand of FICA).
We were also treated to some of cartoonist Zapiro’s creations tracking Mr Mandela’s time in government and the years after he retired. (It’s always a good thing to leave politics before the media start attaching colourful adjectives to your name!)
The guest lists was bolstered by video links with “the Arch” (Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu), former Constitutional Court judge Justice Albie Sacs, Roo (Lucas Radebe) and even South Africa’s Hollywood legend Charlize Theron. But the highlight of the night for me was when we were treated to a delightful speech by Prof Emeritus Phillip Tobias, palaeoanthropologist, world-renowned authority on the evolution of humankind, and (in my opinion) one of the brightest minds ever to come out of this part of Africa.
Apart from the opportunity the evening gave me to rub shoulders with some of South Africa’s greatest-ever legends (even if only via web link), it was also quite refreshing to see how positive and enthusiastic South Africans across racial, cultural and gender lines still are about the future of this country. Well done! How can we help you back?