Mandela family feud deepens as grandson is ejected from homestead

An intergenerational family feud led by the late Nelson Mandela’s eldest daughter and grandson deepened significantly in the days leading up to the anti-apartheid leader’s funeral on Sunday, it was reported yesterday.

The South African Times claimed that days before the country's first democratically elected president was buried at his family graveyard in Qunu in the Eastern Cape province, his grandson and heir, Mandla Mandela, was ejected from the family homestead by his aunt.

According to the newspaper, the locks on the gates at the Qunu homestead’s entrance were changed shortly after Mr Mandela’s eldest daughter, Makaziwe Mandela, arrived at her father’s home on Thursday.

Water disconnected
In addition, since Mr Mandela died on December 5th the water and lights at Mandla's house on the Mandela estate were disconnected, and the 39-year-old was told he had to remove all of his livestock from the homestead.

Family members and politicians aligned to Mandla Mandela were also sidelined and refused entry at the funeral, it was claimed.

Furthermore, traditional family rituals scheduled to be held in Mvezo in the Eastern Cape, where Mandla is chief, were cancelled and no transport to the funeral was provided for his mother.

The ongoing feud between Makaziwe and Mandla, which dates to earlier this year when Mr Mandela became seriously ill in June, appears to be over control of the family and Mr Mandela’s legacy.

As family members prepared for Mr Mandela’s death, they started to make funeral arrangements and found Mandla had moved the remains of Mr Mandela’s three deceased children from the Qunu graveyard to one near his home in Mvezo.

Makaziwe, Mr Mandela’s wife Graça Machel and 14 other family members took Mandla to court petitioning for an order that he return the remains. They were successful in their application and the remains were subsequently returned.

The Mandela clan could become involved in further embarrassment in the months ahead as observers say a fight is brewing over the statesman’s will, which to date has been kept a secret.

“In due course there will be public statements and the contents of the will be published,” Mr Mandela’s long-time friend and family lawyer George Bizos told the newspaper.

“But don’t press either members of the family or any of us to tell you what is in the will. It’s a sacred document.”

In a separate development, Archbishop Desmond Tutu said Mr Mandela would have been appalled at what he called the exclusion of Afrikaners from the public events surrounding the 10 days of mourning, as it was contrary to his motto of inclusiveness.

The outspoken Nobel Peace Prize winner also strongly criticised the prominence of the governing African National Congress during the week of mourning events.