Kgalema Motlanthe leaves his footprint at Maropeng

On Thursday, 28 August 2014, South Africa’s former President Kgalema Motlanthe left his footprint at Maropeng.

Mr Motlanthe joins a long line of former heads of state and Nobel Prize laureates whose footprints are displayed in the “Out of Africa” walkway at Maropeng, including former President Thabo Mbeki and former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan.

South African President Jacob Zuma, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former President FW de Klerk have also left their footprints at Maropeng.

Former President Motlanthe said: “Wherever you are in life, you are part of a great chain of succession, a larger journey than your own. The chain of succession of the footprints of South Africa’s presidents is completed today. But this footprint also represents a whole lot more. It represents the journey of everyone alive in the country during the period of my leadership; not only in South Africa, but also in the whole of Africa, and in a sense, the whole world.

“The tenacity and determination of our ancestors brought us to where we are today. And we trust the legacy we leave to our descendants will be a solid one, so that when they take the baton from us the human race will continue to grow and flourish in a meaningful and positive direction. This footprint ultimately symbolises my hope that the world is on a journey to a peaceful and prosperous future.”

Click here to view a gallery of images from the footprint ceremony.