Nelson Mandela's daughters have condemned the alleged misuse of his name by Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou-Nguesso as "fraud, nothing more and nothing less".

And they have found support for their stance from the same ambassador who last week reportedly slammed the Nelson Mandela Foundation's complaint against Sassou-Nguesso as causing embarrassment to South Africa.

Zindzi Mandela-Hlongwane and Princess Zenani Dlamini on Tuesday broke their silence on the legal furore that has erupted after the foundation slammed Sassou-Nguesso's "brazen misuse" of a speech, allegedly given by Mandela in 1996, as a foreword for his recently published book.

"We would like the public to know that... our father's name... is not public property to be used and abused," they said.
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• This article was originally published on page 3 of The Star on October 28, 2009