It has been 17 years since Michael Jackson passed away. Yet, the King of Pop’s legacy remains unstoppable: still breaking records, still outpacing today’s chart-toppers, still reminding us that some talents arrive only once in a lifetime. But while the new movie Michael focuses on his early years, it was during the 1990s that he developed a deep connection with South Africa. The country captivated him, and he returned repeatedly over the years.
July 1996: MJ’s First Visit
Michael made his first major trip to South Africa for one reason: to honour Mandela’s birthday. And from the moment he arrived, it was love at first sight, for him and for the country.
On 18 July 1996, he met Nelson Mandela for the first time, the meeting marked the beginning of a friendship that would endure for years. The visit fell on Madiba’s 78th birthday. At a celebration at Hilton College in KwaZulu-Natal, surrounded by 2 000 children, the famously shy Michael led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday”. He later revealed he was writing a song dedicated to Mandela.
Then came Soweto. Michael travelled to the heart of the anti-apartheid struggle, laying a wreath at the Hector Pieterson Memorial. Later, at a press conference in Sun City, he openly admitted he loved the country so much he wanted to buy a home there. Mandela, watching the scrum of journalists swarm Michael, chuckled and said, “I can see who is the world leader. I have never seen so many journalists!” Michael, beaming, told the room: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank President Nelson Mandela and the wonderful people of South Africa… for this gracious, really gracious welcome to your wonderful country. I just love it.”
October 1997: HIStory Is Made in South Africa
If 1996 established the connection, 1997 cemented it. Michael returned to South Africa for the final leg of his HIStory World Tour, bringing the monumental run to a close. He played five stadium shows across the country: two in Cape Town, two in Johannesburg, and the final show in Durban on 15 October 1997.
Little did fans know at the time, but that night in Durban marked the end of Michael’s final world tour and would be the last time he ever performed a full show.
These five concerts marked the only time Michael ever played stadium shows on African soil. The setlist featured “Scream”, “Billie Jean”, “Thriller” and “Smooth Criminal”. But the true emotional peak came during “Heal the World”. In a gesture that landed like poetry in post-apartheid South Africa, Michael brought children from every background onto the stage to join hands and sing in an emotional performance.
Mandela attended the 12 October concert in Johannesburg. However, security was so intense, and crowds so enormous at the venue, that he watched from a bulletproof vehicle parked right at the venue’s sound desk.
Getting to Know the Locals
But Michael didn’t just perform in South Africa – he showed up for its people. On 8 October, at the US Ambassador’s residence in Cape Town, he attended the wedding of former TV personality Prudence Solomon and hotel magnate Jerry Inzerillo. When the bride’s father couldn’t be there, Michael stepped in without hesitation, escorting her down the aisle like a proud parent.
Then came Phokeng. On 11 October, Michael brought his parents, Joe and Katherine, and his ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley to the village of Phokeng, where he was officially crowned and honoured as a member of the Bafokeng ka Bakwena tribe. On the way there, one widely circulated story from the trip claims that Michael’s convoy encountered two local men engaged in a roadside fight. According to accounts that have circulated online, he instructed his driver to stop and intervened personally. The two men, stunned to see Michael Jackson standing by a dirt road in rural North West, immediately stopped fighting.
As expected, during the Johannesburg leg of the tour, Michael spent private time with Mandela. South African musician Thandiswa Mazwai still laughs about attending a family lunch at Mandela’s house, where she sat between the two icons. She famously joked that she “bullied MJ the whole day” to get him to relax for photos. “It was a charming lunch where I would say I had the best seating. Tata [Mandela] was at the head, and to his left was I, and to my left was MJ… We had interesting conversations, and I basically grilled MJ all day,” she told the Daily Sun.
Michael Jackson & Nelson Mandela at South Africa in 1999 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/7siU5sCeaB
— MJOuttakes (@mjjuouttakes) March 15, 2022Visiting Twice in 1999
Michael made two more trips to South Africa in 1999, in March and September, both focused on humanitarian work, benefit concerts, and his deepening partnership and friendship with Mandela. In March, he flew to Cape Town for a private, extensive meeting with Mandela about how to use global celebrity to heal social fractures. That conversation directly inspired the “Michael Jackson & Friends” benefit concerts later that year.
At the time, media reported that South Africa had been chosen as the launchpad because it represented “the cradle of civilisation”. Michael put it more simply: “He [Nelson Mandela] has certainly been my inspiration to want to do something before the end of the century, to undertake what I call an adventure of humanity before the birth of the millennium. I love this man very much, and I love Africa.”
In September 1999, he returned for the Kora All Africa Music Awards at Sun City. Receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award, he brought Mandela onto the stage and personally handed over a donation cheque for R1 million to the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. This time, he also brought his young children, Prince and Paris, along to experience Sun City.
Fascination with Sun City
And then there was Sun City. Michael’s relationship with The Palace of the Lost City wasn’t casual. It became a creative obsession, a business interest, and a place he reportedly hoped to own one day.
For a man who built Neverland Ranch as a fantasy kingdom, the hyper-imaginative, Disney-esque architecture of The Palace felt like home. It became one of his favourite destinations in Africa and a place where he spent considerable time.
He once moved into the King Suite (the palace’s presidential suite) for nearly three months. Staff from that era recall Michael wandering the grounds and discussing ideas for enhancing the resort’s theatrical atmosphere.
However, he wasn’t just a wealthy tourist: he wanted the keys. He became close friends with Sun International’s billionaire founder, Sol Kerzner, and aggressively tried to convince him to sell the whole complex. Kerzner declined to sell the resort, but Michael still made a move: in March 1999, he partnered with American gaming magnate Don Barden to buy a 27 per cent stake in Sun International from the North West Development Corporation – a deal worth roughly R400 million at the time. Michael became a financial stakeholder in his favourite African getaway.
He spent hours walking across the famous Time Bridge, exploring the Valley of Waves with close friends, his children, and local families he had befriended along the way. Today, the resort still honours that bond. When The Palace buried a commemorative 25-year time capsule, archival photos of Michael Jackson were officially included among the artefacts to ensure his legacy remained sealed inside the hotel’s walls.
Cape Town-based Sehaam Khan was only 12 years old when she met Michael at Sun City. “The weirdest thing was that I was literally listening to him on my Walkman when we bumped into him,” she told Your Luxury Africa. “I was being a moody teenager because my family wanted to browse the shops while I wanted to ride the slides. Then my mum came running in to say Michael Jackson was upstairs. I thought, ‘That can’t be right, I’m listening to him right now.’” She ran to look, and there he was.
“I crawled on the floor through all the people and bodyguards and grabbed his leg. His security tried to pull me away, but he told them to leave me alone. As he moved through the resort, he let me walk alongside him. I remember hugging him in his black velvet shirt. He smelled really nice. He was very soft-spoken and kind. When we reached his car, he took a moment to say goodbye to me. So many people were trying to get to him, but I was the only one allowed close.”
MJ and Nelson Mandela: A Bond That Held
Above all, it was his bond with Madiba that anchored Michael to South Africa. Michael once said at a press conference: “I’ve had the time of my life here. I’ve had so much fun, I hate to leave. And this is a wonderful, lovely man. I love Nelson Mandela very much.”
For Mandela, the feeling was mutual. Speaking at the Kora Awards in Sun City, he said: “The contribution of Michael Jackson, I hope, will inspire people not only in our country, but throughout the world, to follow his example and to bring a measure of happiness to our children.”
After Michael died, a letter from Mandela was read at the Staples Center memorial. He called Michael a close friend, a musical “giant and a legend”, and someone who could “triumph over tragedy”. He added, “Michael became close to us after he started visiting and performing in South Africa regularly. We became fond of him, and he became a close member of our family. We also mourn with his family and his friends over the loss of a dear friend. He will be missed and memories cherished of him for a long time.”
