May the ancestors make a place for him at the dinner table.
I wish his presidency/status could have done more for our brotha's
and sista's over there in the way that jamesfrmphilly has alluded to.
I share the sentiment. It is what it is. In 1987, the Soviet leaders who supported the ANC's armed struggle advised against following that course as the SU was on the verge of collapse due to overextending itself in Afghanistan and independence movements from within. A peaceful compromise and reconciliation was a condition of his release. Awhile back I discussed this in a thread whereby by I mentioned a film, which I think the title was Endgame. It was a BBC release.
I'm going to keep my peace with Madiba and refrain from personal judgement out of respect for his position as an Elder. We can't place blame entirely on him for what had transpired since his release in 1990. There have been other players involved, most notably Tambo, Mbeki, Ramsposa (who has benefitted the most financially) and Zuma.
If Chris Hani was not assassinated at the time in which he was (1993), the outcome would have been entirely different because SA was in the brink of civil war and the ANC was on the verge of an internal split. And with military support from the Soviets gone they were under pressure from PAC and AZAPO militants backed by Mugabe and China.