Nelson Mandela: A hero at 100

"To talk about Mandela is to talk about struggle, about a cause," says 22-year-old André Cardoso, a rapper and student activist from Mozambique. "It's to stand against oppression and fear." Cardoso is one of a number of Africans who have been asked by DW correspondents how Mandela inspired them.

Mandela was born on July 18, 1918. His father Gadla named him "Rolihlahla," meaning "troublemaker" in the Xhosa language - perhaps an early inkling of his ability to foment change.

In 1944, Nelson Mandela, then in his mid-twenties, joined the African National Congress (ANC), four years before the National Party, which institutionalized racial segregation, came to power.

Racial segregation triggered mass protests and civil disobedience campaigns, in which Mandela played a central role. After the ANC was banned in 1961, Mandela founded its military wing "Umkhonto we Sizwe" (The Spear of the Nation). As its commander-in-chief, he led underground guerrilla attacks against state institutions.

He secretly went abroad in 1962 to drum up financial support and organize military training for ANC cadres. On his return, he was arrested. The charges brought against him could have resulted in a death sentence. Mandela considered attempting a flight as did several of his co-accused, but in the end decided to stay. The famous speech he gave in his defense ended in a strong confession:

"I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and a free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunity. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But, my Lord, if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

"He was a man of principles, a man who stood by his words," says 30-year-old Zimbabwean journalist Mlondolozi Ndlovu of the man who later, as South Africa's first black president, would likewise condemn any racist prejudices against the country's white minority.

Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment. He served 17 years on the notorious Robben Island, off Cape Town. Cell number five, where he was incarcerated, is now a tourist attraction. From 1988 onwards, Mandela was slowly prepared for his release from prison. Just three years earlier he had rejected a pardon which was conditional on the ANC renouncing violence.

On February 11, 1990, after nearly three decades in prison, Mandela, the South African freedom icon, was released. As ever, his will to create change was paired with a great humility. His first public words were, again, a confession: "I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a servant of you, the people."

This attitude inspired David Noah, a journalism student from the Gambia. "I believe as an individual you should always have that selfless attitude in you. You should sacrifice for others, make things happen for other people - not always be selfish and say it's only me me me. Again, what are you doing for other people to make sure other people's lives are better and to put a smile on other people's faces?"

Mandela continued his fight for the abolition of racial segregation. In April 1994, South Africa held its first free election. On May 10, Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first elected black president.

On taking office, Mandela focused on reconciliation between ethnic groups and together with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, he set up the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to help the country come to terms with the crimes committed under apartheid. After his retirement from active politics in 1999, Mandela dedicated himself to social causes, helping children and HIV-AIDS patients. Amid all the laurels he earned, Mandela knew he was not without flaw. He later admitted he had not done enough to prevent the epidemic from spreading during his tenure.

A lack of success in the fight against poverty in South Africa also tarnishes Mandela's political legacy. Young South Africans like 17-year-old Ghamolelo Thobile Masweu blame him for not having done enough to end social injustice and inequality.

"It  wasn't satisfying at all for us, the people he claimed to fight for," Masweu says.

But despite such criticism, many admire him as a man who remained true to his values.

"His impartiality, his pursuit of equal rights and justice are fundamental to me and give me guidance in my view of the world," says Pamela Getcheu, 33, from Cameroon. "The association "Coeur d'enfance" that I co-founded is my way of not ignoring the inequalities in our society, but fighting for children's rights."

During the last years of his life, Mandela retired from public life to spend more time with his family back in the small village of Qunu.

When, on December 5, 2013, Nelson Mandela died, political leaders across Africa and the world expressed their mourning. Yet many young Africans point out that Mandela's was a special kind of leadership that is far from being matched by those in charge on the continent today.

"Mandela represents a challenge to the next generation of African leaders to place the people at the heart of all of their efforts," says entrepreneur and former Miss Liberia Patrice Juah. And 26-year-old Don Adrian Ingutia from Nairobi, Kenya, says: "If our African leaders were like Mandela, Africa could be changed."

Henri Fotso, Gwendolin Hilse, Selma Inocência, Johan von Mirbach, Privilege Musvanhiri and Andrew Wasike contributed to this report.