Mandela clan lashes out at Makaziwe

Pretoria — The AbaThembu clan has accused Makaziwe Mandela-Amuah of disrespecting her culture and of interfering with the kingdom.
According to the Sunday Independent, Nelson Mandela’s daughter angered the clan following an interview she gave that was aired on SABC last week. AbaThembu spokesperson Daludumo Mtirara said it was clear in comments made on TV that she did not understand the Xhosa culture and that she did not know the history of the royal family.

He said she could learn from Mandela’s grandson Mandla.
Mtirara said that the clan was not confident in Makaziwe’s ability to execute her advisory function in the Mandela house and that she should keep in mind that she is not a world icon.

He said in the clan’s eyes she was merely a junior princess that has a role to play when invited to do so.
This comes after the AbaThembu stepped in to help end another family feud in the Mandela household late last month.

The row revolved around who would step in as head of the household. The two contenders are Nelson Mandela’s eldest grandson Mandla, 39, or his eldest living daughter, Makaziwe, 59.

l A rabbit hidden in the newly erected Nelson Mandela statue at the Union Buildings had the department of arts and culture baffled, Beeld newspaper reported on Saturday.

The sculptors of the 9 metre bronze-plated statue, Andre Prinsloo and Ruhan Janse van Vuuren, secretly added the rabbit to the work, according to the report.

The duo told the newspaper the rabbit was a “small trademark” of their work after the department did not allow them to engrave their signatures on the statue trousers.

They said it also represented the tight deadline they were working under as rabbit in Afrikaans “haas” also meant haste.
“The time factor was big and at times we had to work hard,” Prinsloo said.

Prinsloo said the “small symbol” was hidden in the ear and it did not take anything away from the statue.
“You need a long lens or binoculars to see it,” he said.

“During the moulding process a lot of people had seen the statue up close and nobody noticed it.”
Department spokesperson Mack Lewele told the newspaper he was not aware of the addition to the statue and it would investigate the matter. “We can’t comment until we have seen it with our own eyes,” Lewele said.

Lewele did not say whether the department would consider removing the rabbit. — AP