Mandela Was Imprisoned for Freedom — Not for an Airbus Investigation
Comparing Namal Rajapaksa’s Remand to Nelson Mandela’s Imprisonment Is an Insult to the History of the Anti-Apartheid Struggle
There are political comparisons that may be controversial, and then there are comparisons that fundamentally distort history.
The attempt by sections of Sri Lanka’s opposition political establishment to portray Namal Rajapaksa’s recent arrest and remand as somehow comparable to Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment falls into the latter category.
Mandela was not imprisoned because of a corruption investigation, a commercial transaction or an allegation involving an aircraft manufacturer. He spent 27 years in prison because of his struggle against South Africa’s apartheid system and his political activities as a leader of the African National Congress (ANC). His imprisonment became one of the defining symbols of the international struggle against racial apartheid.
Namal Rajapaksa’s circumstances are entirely different.
Rajapaksa, the son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and an SLPP parliamentarian, was arrested in September 2026 by Sri Lanka’s Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) in connection with allegations linked to the purchase of Airbus aircraft by SriLankan Airlines. He was subsequently remanded until September 18. Rajapaksa has denied wrongdoing.
That is a matter for the Sri Lankan courts to determine.
But whatever the eventual outcome of the case, equating a corruption-related criminal proceeding with Mandela’s imprisonment for the anti-apartheid struggle is historically indefensible.
Who was Nelson Mandela?
Nelson Mandela was a lawyer, political leader and one of the principal figures in South Africa’s struggle against apartheid.
The apartheid government had created a system of institutionalised racial discrimination in which political power and enormous areas of social and economic life were structured around racial classification.
Mandela became a leading figure in the ANC's campaign against that system.
His political journey was not simply a story of an individual who happened to be arrested. It was part of a much larger liberation movement involving millions of South Africans and activists around the world.
Mandela was arrested in 1962 and initially convicted of leaving South Africa without a permit and inciting workers to strike. He was sentenced to five years' imprisonment. The historical record of his trials and imprisonment is extensive.
He was subsequently prosecuted in the Rivonia Trial, where he and other anti-apartheid activists faced charges including sabotage.
Mandela and his co-defendants were ultimately sentenced to life imprisonment.
He spent 18 years on Robben Island before later being transferred to other prisons. In total, Mandela spent 27 years in prison before his release in 1990.
His imprisonment became inseparable from the history of the anti-apartheid movement.
Mandela was fighting a political system
There is another important distinction that should not be erased by political rhetoric.
Mandela's struggle was directed against the apartheid state and its system of racial domination.
He was not simply protesting because he disagreed with a government policy. He became a central figure in a liberation movement challenging an entire political order.
The ANC was banned by the apartheid government in 1960. Mandela later became associated with uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the armed wing established by the ANC and its allies after the political environment had become increasingly repressive. Historical accounts record his involvement with the organisation and his subsequent imprisonment.
The distinction matters.
Mandela's imprisonment ultimately became a symbol of resistance to apartheid and contributed to a global movement demanding racial equality, political freedom and democracy.
Now compare that with Namal Rajapaksa
Namal Rajapaksa is facing a completely different legal circumstance.
According to reporting on his September 2026 arrest, the allegations concern the 2013 purchase of Airbus aircraft by SriLankan Airlines and alleged corruption connected with that transaction. He was questioned for several hours by CIABOC before being arrested and remanded. Rajapaksa has denied wrongdoing.
The case must therefore be determined through evidence, due process and the courts.
A person who has been arrested or remanded is not thereby guilty.
That principle applies to everyone — including Namal Rajapaksa.
But the principle works both ways.
Being arrested does not automatically make someone Nelson Mandela.
Nor does being held on remand transform an ordinary criminal proceeding into a liberation struggle.
The dangerous politics of political martyrdom
The attempt to construct a Mandela-like image around a politician facing criminal allegations raises a broader question about political culture in Sri Lanka.
Political parties frequently describe their leaders as victims of political persecution when they face investigations or prosecution.
There may indeed be circumstances in which governments misuse state institutions against political opponents. Such allegations should be investigated seriously.
But the existence of a political dispute does not automatically convert every prosecution into political persecution.
And it certainly does not make every arrested politician comparable to Nelson Mandela.
Mandela's imprisonment represented something far larger than personal political survival.
He became a symbol of millions of people who had been denied political equality under apartheid.
A historical comparison that should not be made lightly
Mandela's name carries enormous historical weight.
He was imprisoned for decades, subjected to harsh conditions and separated from his family while South Africa's apartheid system remained in place.
The official Nelson Mandela Foundation chronology records his imprisonment and his transfer to Robben Island during the early stages of his long incarceration.
His imprisonment eventually became part of one of the most consequential political transformations of the twentieth century.
Mandela went from prisoner 46664 to becoming South Africa's first democratically elected Black president.
His political legacy was ultimately associated with reconciliation, constitutional democracy and the dismantling of apartheid.
That history should not be reduced to the simplistic equation:
“I was arrested, therefore I am Mandela.”
Sri Lanka needs accountability — not political mythology
There is nothing wrong with defending an accused person.
There is nothing wrong with demanding due process.
There is nothing wrong with questioning whether an investigation is politically motivated.
And there is nothing wrong with demanding that CIABOC, the police, prosecutors and courts operate independently.
But defending an accused politician does not require rewriting history.
If Namal Rajapaksa believes the allegations against him are false, the strongest response is to challenge the evidence, contest the prosecution and establish his innocence through the legal process.
That is how a democratic society should work.
The courts — rather than political slogans — should determine whether the allegations are proved.
Mandela deserves better
Nelson Mandela's legacy belongs to South Africa and to the global history of the struggle against racial oppression.
His imprisonment was not a political public-relations exercise.
It was the consequence of a decades-long confrontation with apartheid and a system that denied the majority of South Africans basic political rights.
To compare that history with an individual politician being arrested and remanded in connection with an alleged Airbus-related corruption case is therefore not merely a questionable political analogy.
It trivialises the suffering and sacrifice of the anti-apartheid movement.
Namal Rajapaksa has the right to defend himself.
He has the right to a fair trial.
He has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
But those rights do not require Sri Lanka to rewrite the history of Nelson Mandela.
Mandela was imprisoned for a struggle for freedom.
Namal Rajapaksa is facing a criminal investigation that must be decided by the Sri Lankan justice system.
Those are two entirely different stories.
And the difference should be respected.