When I walked out of prison, that was my mission, to liberate the oppressed and the oppressor both.

When I came to Johannesburg from the countryside, I knew nobody, but many strangers were very kind to me. I then was dragged into politics, and then, subsequently, I became a lawyer.

I cannot overemphasise the value we place on a free, independent and outspoken press

Part of building a new nation means building a spirit of tolerance, love and respect amongst the people of this country.

We shall immunize every child in Africa to get rid of this terrible disease forever.

Without language, one cannot talk to people and understand them; one cannot share their hopes and aspirations, grasp their history, appreciate their poetry, or savor their songs.

What we did was to try and exploit that spirit [the idea of giving], which was there even before I approached individual South Africans [to give to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund]. I think we must start from that angle.