Cyril Ramaphosa has urged people to honour the legacy of the anti-apartheid hero by helping to rebuild the country after days of riots that left 212 dead. The unrest has now largely subsided and the deployment of 25,000 soldiers is expected to be completed by the end of the weekend.
“The one positive thing I can say is that this incident has united us as never before,” the president said.
People have been posting photos of themselves distributing food to areas most affected by the unrest.
The violence was sparked by the jailing of ex-President Jacob Zuma who has handed himself in to police on 7 July to serve a 15-month sentence for contempt of court. On Monday, Mr Zuma is due to attend – via video link – another corruption trial in relation to a $5bn (£3bn) arms deal from the 1990s.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and his lawyers are now calling for a postponement because of the violence.
Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first democratically elected president, died at the age of 95 in 2013, when Zuma was president.
During Mandela’s birthday, 18 July – people are urged to spend 67 minutes helping others, to mark his 67 years of public service.
Mr Ramaphosa has spent the day in Gauteng province touring Soweto, South Africa’s largest township and once home to Mr Mandela.
He has been taking part in the clean-up after mayhem which saw thousands of people ransacking malls.
Small businesses, warehouses, factories, clinics, and schools in the two provinces of Kwazulu-Natal and Gauteng were also targeted – a level of violence unprecedented in post-apartheid South Africa.
Debris was strewn all over the streets and some communities have had to travel long distances to buy basics.
In Durban, the main city of KwaZulu-Natal, the authorities are also investigating a chemical spill possibly linked to a warehouse fire after dead fish were spotting washing ashore.
Mr Ramaphosa, who says the violence was orchestrated, has faced criticism for acting too late. Amid the chaos people armed themselves and formed vigilante groups to protect their property.
