Madiba’s Trainer, Colonel Fekadu Wakene Complains about His Visa Denial to Attend Madiba’s Funeral “They denied me a visa because ‘an invitation hasn’t been sent to me’. I don’t know anyone else in South Africa. The only man I know there was Madiba and he has passed away.”
It was on July, 1961 that Mandela arrives in Addis to fetch help from the then Emperor Hailesellasie of Ethiopian for the freedom struggle back home in South Africa. Since what he asked was a military training, the Emperor appointed the best military officers of the country for Madiba’s training.
One of the military officers who were appointed to train Madiba at the time was the 76 years old colonel Fekadu Wakene. At that time he was a 26 years old officer fresh from his training in Israel. Madiba was 43 at the time. As the colonel relates his time with Madiba as a trainer on a local newspaper in Addis, Yegna press, Madiba was a strong man with loud voice and firm hands.
“He was so confident…his confidence is visible in his vibe and voice. He spoke so loudly that when at night sessions of the training we have to say to him to lower his voice; His grip is so tight when you shake hands with him” he recalled. The colonel now retired after 37 years of service is a lonely man.
His only source of income is a monthly pension of 1,000 Br ($52). “I am happy and thankful to God, though am now ravaged with ailments…hypertension, heart disease, uric acid and nerve problems…my hands are now getting paralyzed,” he said. He had got some news of getting medical help in south Africa, but now it seems that it is been forgotten.
But above all this, what made him bitter is his denial of visa, to attend Madiba’s funeral, by the South African embassy in Addis. He had got a sponsor for his travel and expenses to attend Madiba’s funeral. “They denied me a visa because ‘an invitation hasn’t been sent to me’” he said, “…I didn’t know anyone else in South Africa. The only man I know there was Madiba and he has passed away.”
