Circumstances

Barack Obama delivered his remarks at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela, which took place on 10th of December, 2013, at the First National Bank Stadium, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The speech followed Nelson Mandela’s death on 5th of December, 2013 and took place on the stadium where Mandela made his last public appearance in 2010. The memorial services lasted for several days; Nelson Mandela was eventually buried on 15th of December.

Because of his international reputation as a great leader and human rights activist, Nelson Mandela’s death gathered over 100 political leaders from around the world who came to pay their last respects to him. Consequently, the speech was delivered in very formal circumstances.

At that time, South Africa was led by Jacob Zuma who was growing very unpopular in the country, being criticized for failing to implement real reforms. Consequently, Obama’s remarks about political leaders failing the memory of Nelson Mandela were probably also targeted at president Zuma: “There are too many leaders who claim solidarity with Madiba’s struggle for freedom, but do not tolerate dissent from their own people.” (ll. 171-174)

Obama also alludes to other circumstantial aspects, talking about ...