No power on this earth can destroy the thirst for human dignity

One of the things I learned when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself, I could not change others.

The names of Dingane and Bambata, Hintsa and Makana, Squngthi and Dalasile, Moshoeshoe and Sekhukhuni, were praised as the glory of the entire African nation. I hoped then that life might offer me the opportunity to serve my people and make my own humble contribution to their freedom struggle.

There is nobody more dangerous than one who has been humiliated, even when you humiliate him rightly.

Force is the only language the imperialists can hear, and no country became free without some sort of violence.

I watched, along with all of you, as the tens of thousands of our people stood patiently in long queues for many hours. Some sleeping on the open ground overnight waiting to cast this momentous vote.

In prison, illusions can offer comfort.