Mandela and De Klerk negotiate the place and timing of his release

De Klerk informed Mandela that he would be released the next day in Johannesburg. Mandela objected to a planned transfer and insisted on walking through Victor Verster’s gates; he asked for additional time for the ANC to prepare. The government refused the requested delay but agreed to release him from the prison. Mandela’s insistence asserted his own agency while also protecting the ANC’s role in a moment the state might have tried to stage on its terms.