By Fiona Forde
Tokyo Sexwale's visit to the Republic of Congo has brought to an end a weeks-old diplomatic spat over the Congolese president's semi-autobiographical book and the preface attributed to Nelson Mandela.
Visiting the West African country on Monday, Sexwale, who authorised the book's use of Madiba's words although the Nelson Mandela Foundation denied granting such permission, said the purpose of his meeting with President Sassou Nguesso was "to give him a message from Nelson Mandela who regards him as a brother and a true friend".
"The message I want to state is the following, and it must be absolutely clear: the book of President Sassou is a great book, and the quotations of Mr Mandela in that book are supported by Mr Mandela himself," Sexwale told Congolese TV.
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Nelson Mandela Foundation could not be reached for comment The preface to the book borrows from a speech Mandela made about the Congolese president during his visit to Cape Town in 1996. Mandela called Sassou-Nguesso "one of our great African leaders".
Sexwale said: "President Sassou Nguesso is a leader in Africa. The words that had been put by Mandela in that book are correct."
Although permission had been granted to use the words, as confirmed by Nelson Mandela Foundation CEO Achmat Dangor some weeks back, it had not been intended that they be used as a preface or a foreword.
When the English translation of the book was launched earlier this year, the foundation issued an unusually harsh statement over what it saw as the "brazen abuse" of Madiba's speech. The foundation said no permission had been granted, and threatened to take action.
Some days later, Sexwale said it was he who had given permission for the speech to be used, although he made it clear that he had stated that it was not to be used as a foreword.
As the diplomatic cleavage widened in the weeks that followed, Mandela himself stepped in and wrote to Sassou-Nguesso in an attempt to defuse the row.
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