Mandela´s Home

The Mandela House at 8115 Orlando West, on the corner of Vilakazi and Ngakane Streets, Soweto, is part of a Johannesburg City tender for new houses in Orlando. Nelson Mandela moved here in 1946 with his first wife, Evelyn Ntoko Mase, They divorced in 1957, and from 1958 he was joined in the house by his second wife, Nomzamo Winifred Madikizela (Winnie). The house itself is identical to hundreds of others built on postage-stamp-size plots on dirt roads. It had the same standard tin roof, the same cement floor, a narrow kitchen, and a bucket toilet at the back. Although there were street lamps outside we used paraffin lamps as the homes were not yet electrified. The bedroom was so small that a double bed took up almost the entire floor space.No. 8115 has been entrenched as one of South Africa’s most significant heritage sites because it tells the tale, in sound, film, interpretive panels and guided tours, of the Mandela family during the apartheid era and beyond.

You can still walk around the interior of the house as before, but now there is a highly narrative element to your experience, which is enhanced by the addition of a visitor center. Staff at Mandela House allow 20 visitors in at a time for ease of access,You should  see the Mandela House at 8115 Orlando West while you are in South Africa,You mustn’t touch the element of the museum,You shouldn’t  walk around  the  home alone or without a guide, You must pay the pass to de house.