Letting go of this great man will be so hard

As the world mourns Nelson Mandela, the extraordinary human being and statesman, his family are heartbroken.

On the day he died I spoke to his daughter Zindzi who was over here in the UK to attend the premiere of Mandela: The Long Walk To Freedom, a new movie about her father.

Zindzi was one of the advisers on the film and she wanted it to be a true portrayal of her father’s struggle, so we see the man behind the icon and his angst at not being able to be a proper father to his children when he was in prison for almost three decades.

While it was being screened, news broke of Mr Mandela’s death and a two minute silence was held at the end of the film.

It was attended by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and William and Kate looked as shocked as the rest of the audience as they left the cinema.

How dreadful for Zindzi and her sister Zenani to be so far away from home and their extended family when their father passed away.

Before she heard the sad news, Zindzi acknowledged that, at 95 years old and seriously ill, her dad was running out of time, but added sadly that although intellectually she knew his time was short, she wasn’t prepared emotionally to let him go.

Those feelings will be shared not just by his family and citizens of South Africa, but by people all over the globe who admired him as a peacemaker and humanitarian.

Zindzi told me that watching the film was extremely emotional and that British actor Idris Elba had captured the true spirit of her father. She also talked about growing up as Nelson Mandela’s daughter.

It wasn’t easy for her and her elder sister, or for their mother Winnie. Mr Mandela was incarcerated when Zindzi was a toddler and she only met him for the first time when she was a teenager, and it was through a thick glass partition at Robben Island prison.

During his time in jail, the family were subjected to regular raids and her mother struggled to bring up her children.

Zindzi said Winnie Mandela changed after being imprisoned herself and became very bitter and angry.

Her parents went on to divorce and again that was very hard on both them and their children.

When I worked as a presenter at TVam with the late Mike Morris we carried out Mr Mandela’s first live TV interview following his release from prison in 1990.

I recall his charisma, sheer humanity and spirit of forgiveness. He just wanted to make his beloved South Africa a strong, democratic, fair and peaceful nation.

There is still a long way to go to achieve that dream and the best possible tribute to this extraordinary man would be for everyone in South Africa to aspire to make it come true.