Feud in Mandela family resurfaces
20 Dec 2013 5:22 AM IST
Mandla is also reported to have found his home on the Mandela estate without electricity and water on the day of his grandfather’s burial.
The Johannesburg tabloid The Times reported on Tuesday that locks at Nelson Mandela’s home in the Eastern Cape hamlet were changed shortly after his eldest daughter, Makaziwe Mandela, arrived there on Thursday. At the time, Mandla Mandela was keeping vigil next to his grandfather’s coffin while the anti-apartheid icon’s body lay in state at the Union Buildings in Pretoria for three days.
He escorted the coffin to Qunu on Saturday for Mandela’s funeral the following day.
Approached for comment on the report on Wednesday, Mandla Mandela’s spokesman, Freddy Pilusa, said, ‘He (Mandla) doesn’t want to confirm nor deny the report. He wants to focus on promoting and upholding the legacy of his grandfather going forward.’ Mandla and Makaziwe have been involved in a bitter public spat over the control of Mandela’s legacy and leadership of the fractured family. The newspaper report said that since Mandela’s death on 5 December:
- Water and lights at Mandla’s house on the Mandela estate were disconnected late on Saturday.
- Makaziwe had told Mandla, the statesman’s grandson, that he must remove his cattle, pigs and dogs from the homestead.
- Relatives, politicians and religious leaders aligned to Mandla were sidelined and refused accreditation for Sunday’s funeral.
- Traditional family rituals, scheduled to be held in Mvezo, a town near Qunu, where Mandla is Madiba clan chief, were cancelled.
- No transport to the funeral was provided for Mandla’s mother, Nolusapho, or for her sister.
The Johannesburg tabloid The Times reported on Tuesday that locks at Nelson Mandela’s home in the Eastern Cape hamlet were changed shortly after his eldest daughter, Makaziwe Mandela, arrived there on Thursday. At the time, Mandla Mandela was keeping vigil next to his grandfather’s coffin while the anti-apartheid icon’s body lay in state at the Union Buildings in Pretoria for three days.
He escorted the coffin to Qunu on Saturday for Mandela’s funeral the following day.
Approached for comment on the report on Wednesday, Mandla Mandela’s spokesman, Freddy Pilusa, said, ‘He (Mandla) doesn’t want to confirm nor deny the report. He wants to focus on promoting and upholding the legacy of his grandfather going forward.’ Mandla and Makaziwe have been involved in a bitter public spat over the control of Mandela’s legacy and leadership of the fractured family. The newspaper report said that since Mandela’s death on 5 December:
- Water and lights at Mandla’s house on the Mandela estate were disconnected late on Saturday.
- Makaziwe had told Mandla, the statesman’s grandson, that he must remove his cattle, pigs and dogs from the homestead.
- Relatives, politicians and religious leaders aligned to Mandla were sidelined and refused accreditation for Sunday’s funeral.
- Traditional family rituals, scheduled to be held in Mvezo, a town near Qunu, where Mandla is Madiba clan chief, were cancelled.
- No transport to the funeral was provided for Mandla’s mother, Nolusapho, or for her sister.
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