The US President visits the jail with his wife and daughters in what he called a “great privilege and honour”.
Barack Obama visits Nelson Mandela’s prison cell on Robben Island
Barack Obama and his family have been “deeply humbled” by a visit to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison during the apartheid regime.
The US President, his wife Michelle, and daughters Sasha and Malia were guided around the prison by politician Ahmed Kathrada, who was held there with Mr Mandela for nearly two decades.
Mr Obama wrote in a guest book in the courtyard: “On behalf of our family, we’re deeply humbled to stand where men of such courage faced down injustice and refused to yield.
“The world is grateful for the heroes of Robben Island, who remind us that no shackles or cells can match the strength of the human spirit.”
The prison has been preserved as a tribute to anti-apartheid icon Mr Mandela, who is critically ill in hospital.
The Obama family were also shown Mr Mandela’s cell, an expansive quarry where prisoners endured hours of backbreaking work and a guard tower from where Mr Mandela was watched during his incarceration.
Mr Obama commented on the “hard labour” the South African endured and asked the guide to tell his daughters how the African National Congress party got started.
Mr Obama has been to the prison before, when he was a senator in 2006, but wanted to return with his family.
“For me to be able to bring my daughters there and teach them the history of that place and this country … that’s a great privilege and a great honour,” he said.
After the tour, Mr Obama delivered a speech at the University of Cape Town where Robert F Kennedy delivered his famous 1966 address linking the struggle against apartheid to the US civil rights movement.
Mr Obama used the platform to challenge young Africans to fulfil Mr Mandela’s legacy by shoring up progress on the continent that rests on a “fragile foundation”.
Mr Obama also announced a new US-led initiative to double access to electric power across Africa, vowing to help bring “light where there is currently darkness”.
Backed by $7bn in US investment, the power programme will focus on expanding access to electricity in six African countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and Tanzania.
Meanwhile, Mr Mandela’s illness has placed Mr Obama in a tricky political spot, forcing him to balance his desire to push for a new economic relationship with Africa, with the need to properly honour his hero and “personal inspiration”.
Laying out his own vision for development on the continent where his father was born, Mr Obama said the US seeks a “partnership that empowers Africans to access greater opportunity in their own lives”.
He dismissed the notion that the US sought to meddle in Africa’s affairs, saying his country would benefit from the continent’s ability to manage its own affairs – economically, politically and militarily.
“Ultimately I believe Africans should make up their own minds about what serves African interests,” Mr Obama said.
“We trust your judgement, the judgement of ordinary people. We believe that when you control your destiny – if you got a handle on your governments – then governments will promote freedom and opportunity, because that will serve you.”
Mr Mandela remains in a critical condition in hospital after being admitted for a recurring lung infection.
On Saturday, Mr Obama called Mr Mandela’s wife Graca Machel and privately visited several of his daughters and grandchildren to offer support and prayers.
But he did not push for a visit to the Pretoria hospital where the 94-year-old is being treated, worried that he would disturb his peace.
“I expressed my hope that Madiba draws peace and comfort from the time that he is spending with loved ones,” Mr Obama told Mrs Machel.
Mrs Machel said she drew “strength from the support” from the Obama family
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