Gibson Makanda is a person who some South Africans thought was a fake Nelson Mandela who took his place after Mandela’s death to protest against racism in South Africa. Another group of people thought that the real Nelson Mandela died when he was in jail on Robben Island (under house arrest) in the 1980s.
Gibson Makanda Conspiracy Theory
Gibson Makanda is a mysterious politician in South Africa. He is said to have replaced anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela when Mandela died in jail in 1985.
Conspiracy ideas have always been around. But in South Africa, the one about Gibson Makanda seems to have stuck out the most. Some people think that Nelson Mandela died in prison in 1985. The apartheid government allegedly replaced him with Gibson Makanda, who looked just like him, so that they wouldn’t have to announce his death and face backlash from around the world.
This “clone” of Mandela was used to arrange the end of apartheid in South Africa. He soon became the first black president of the Rainbow Nation.
No matter how crazy the theories are, one family has refused to believe that there was a Gibson Makanda and that he took Mandela’s place when he died. The Mandela family made it clear that their father, Nelson Mandela, did not die in prison.
Response to the Conspiracy
In a statement, Nelson Mandela’s family said that the idea that Makhanda Gibson Makanda is part of a plot is a joke. Zindzi Mandela fought back against the claim in a number of online discussions.