No one can say what Mandela would have been like if he had not gone to prison . Sylvester Monroe : Nelson Mandela 's leadership was shaped by his 27 years in prison . Prison did n't turn Mandela into a pacifist but perhaps a realist , Monroe says . He also notes that the man who led South Africa to independence from Britain and became its first black president had been imprisoned for fighting against apartheid.
Sylvester Monroe : Nelson Mandela 's leadership was shaped by his 27 years in prison . Prison did n't turn Mandela into a pacifist but perhaps a realist , Monroe says . He also notes that the man who led South Africa to independence from Britain and became its first black president had been imprisoned for fighting against apartheid.