/ 6 July 1999

Free at long last

Retirement from the presidency is like being ”out of jail for the second time,” said former president and long-time political prisoner Nelson Mandela in an interview aired on Sunday night. Just over two weeks after handing power to President Thabo Mbeki last month, Mandela told SABC television: ”I am happy … to be out of jail for the second time.”I can now not just carry out duties, even though I enjoyed doing so. But I am now going to concentrate on what appeals to me,” he said.