JOHANNESBURG—Nelson Mandela said he “loved” Afrikaans, even though it was the language of the people who imprisoned him for 27 years during apartheid. One of the closest friends he made in prison on Robben Island was a white Afrikaans warder, whom Mandela credited with improving his Afrikaans immensely.
But now, on the eve of local government elections that threaten to further loosen the African National Congress’s (ANC) nearly three-decade grip on South Africa, a leader of the ANC has demonized Afrikaans as the lingo of apartheid.
