S.Africa marks 50 years of Mandela's arrest

HOWICK: South Africa will unveil its latest monument to Nelson Mandela on Saturday, a new statue along a rural highway to mark the spot where he was arrested 50 years ago for his struggle against white rule.

Mandela, now 94, was arrested as a young liberation fighter on August 5, 1962, near the town of Howick, just months after he founded the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC).

He had recently returned from a trip across Africa drumming up support for the new Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), or "Spear of the Nation".

A modest monument at the site of his arrest was put up in 1996, but it will now be eclipsed by the monumental sculpture made up of 50 steel rods of between five and 10 metres high symbolizing the prison.

When viewed from the right angle, a portrait Mandela steers into focus.

A makeshift exhibition -- modelled from the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg -- opened at the site last year, pending the construction of a proper museum.

A coffee shop and souvenir vendors of beaded Zulu jewellery have already sprung up, as has a picnic spot where people can stage their weddings.

South African President Jacob Zuma arrived in Howick, a small picturesque town 90 kilometers (55 miles) from Durban on Saturday morning to unveil the monument.

Mandela's life on the lam, dodging apartheid police while making appearances across the country, earned him the nickname "Black Pimpernel".

He was arrested while travelling illegally to Johannesburg from Durban, where he had briefed ANC leader Albert Luthuli on his trip.

Police found him disguised as a driver under the false name of David Motsamayi, in the car of the (white) theatre director Cecil Williams.

His arrest about 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Durban led to 27 years of incarceration, until his release on February 11, 1990.