Nelson Mandela celebrates 89th birthday

Nelson Mandela celebrates his 89th birthday in South Africa today with a star-studded soccer match and the launch of a humanitarian campaign along with former President Jimmy Carter, ex-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and other “elders” of the global village.

Messages of support began rolling in from all corners of the world while a local poll found that Mandela, known affectionately as Madiba, was becoming more popular with age.

“The country and the world are privileged to celebrate the life of such an outstanding leader of our people,” President Thabo Mbeki, who succeeded Mandela in 1999, said in a statement.

“Mandela inspires South Africa, the continent and the rest of humanity through his life, his leadership, and his resolute and deep-seated commitment to the struggle against apartheid and for a just and democratic society,” he said.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions said Mandela had “done more than any other individual to forge South Africa’s history and help us win democracy and freedom”.

“So COSATU would like to remind our comrade, the noble-born professional lawyer, freedom fighter and first president of a free South Africa how well loved he is by countless ordinary South African workers for what he has done for them.