The squabbles are numerous and ironically have thrown the ailing Mandela into the centre of drama that he has tried to avoid, ever since withdrawing from public life ten years ago.
Mandela, who is just two weeks shy of his 95 birthday, has been hospitalised for almost a month and there are conflicting reports about the true nature of his condition. This week, court documents that formed part of one of the family’s legal fights, revealed that he was in a vegetative state and had been so since last week. According to some reports, doctors had advised the family to turn off the life support systems keeping their patriarch alive.
The Presidency under Jacob Zuma has denied this is the case, standing by the latest official statement that he is ‘critical’ but ‘stable. Mandela’s daughter Makaziwe however has confirmed that her father was being supported by machines and could not breathe on his own.
But it is the family infighting that has dominated the news headlines in the last week, almost overshadowing the critical nature of Mandela’s health.
The main fight currently being played out, and available for the world to see on the internet and on TV, is the clash over where and how Mandela will be buried. The dispute relates to a fight between Mandela’s grandson Mandla, who is officially head of the Mandela clan, and 17 other family members. The family, led by Makaziwe, last week took Mandla to court to order him to return the remains of three family members he controversially exhumed from Mandela’s home village Qunu in 2011.
Mandla, who has an equally controversial background steeped in sex scandals and corruption, has since relented and the bodies have been reburied in Qunu, where Mandela will also be laid to rest when the time comes. Speaking at a press conference, Mandla this week revealed the depth of the family feud, accusing fellow family members of trying to cash in on Mandela’s legacy
"This is the very family that has taken their own father, their own grandfather, to court for his monies," he said referring to a long-running battle by his aunt Makaziwe to remove the guardians of a Mandela charitable trust.
Makaziwe and her sister Zenani made news last month by announcing their intent to sue the Mandela Trust, going to court to remove Mandela’s own choices of directors and trustees. This includes noted human rights advocate and Mandela’s former attorney, George Bizos.
The fighting has angered most South Africans who have been united in their prayers for Madiba to recover, and their thanks for what he did for the nation. Around South Africa there have been all night vigils, prayers and signs of people coming together to praise and remember Mandela.
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu on Thursday vocalized some of the anger displayed, appealing to members of the Mandela family to display the grace "their patriarch and the nation deserves at this somber moment."
"Please, please, please may we think not only of ourselves. It's almost like spitting in Madiba's face," Archbishop Tutu said in a statement released Thursday.
Tony Dykes, the director of the Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) group, which is the successor to the former Anti-Apartheid Movement, said Madiba’s legacy is not just the responsibility of this family.
“This is a challenge for everyone around the world, not just the family. If Nelson Mandela’s legacy is to mean anything, it is for all of us to live up to the values, commitment and life examples that Nelson Mandela has laid before us,” Dykes told SW Radio Africa. – SW Radio Africa
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