He suffered a tremendously difficult life marked by 27 years of hard time while vying for civil rights. He got rid of aparteid. He's like MLK.
That's the revisionist version. I've spoken with many Rhodesians and South Africans who grew up, or served during that era, and I can tell you quite simply that there is no love lost for Mandela, Mugabe and others of their ilk. They've completely ruined what were once prosperous countries.