Mandela takes his first supervised drive through Cape Town in 22 years

Deputy prison commander Gawie Marx invited Mandela to see Cape Town. Mandela later described the drive as a striking encounter with ordinary life after decades of confinement; at one point Marx left him alone in the car. The episode was a controlled outing, not freedom. It also formed part of the government’s effort to prepare Mandela for possible negotiations, while Mandela read the change in treatment as a political signal.