In January, when Madiba was admitted to hospital, Onicca Nyembezi Mothoa cried and prayed that the man she believes is her father would not die before they had met.
Eight months after Mothoa came forward claiming that she was Nelson Mandela’s love child, she has yet to hear from his family.
In August last year, the Nelson Mandela Foundation said the family would investigate her claim.
However, when The Star phoned the foundation for a comment, the foundation’s Sello Hatang said they had handed the matter to the Mandela family to investigate. “This is a private matter.”
He could also not say who in the family was dealing with the investigation and whether the probe into Mothoa’s claim had started.
“There is an iron door. They don’t want to allow me to see him. If they can remove that iron door, everything will be okay,” she said.
Mothoa came forward weeks after it was reported that Mpho Pule, who also claimed to be Mandela’s love child, had spent almost 12 years battling to see the man she believed was her father.
Pule died last year, a month after Mandela’s office wrote to say they were close to confirming her claim.
Now Mothoa is scared that the same thing could happen to her. “I was so devastated when I heard that he was sick. Why can’t they allow me to come and tell them my story and let him decide?”
It’s her striking physical resemblance to Mandela that surprises many, particularly in Soshanguve, near Pretoria, where she lives with her children and grandchildren.
Mothoa has indicated she is prepared to take a DNA test to prove her claim.
She was born in Atteridgeville in 1947 to Sophie Majeni, at a time when Mandela’s political career was on the rise.
Mothoa claims Madiba and Majeni met while her mother was working as a domestic worker in Pretoria.
Majeni and Mandela’s secret liaison came to light when Mothoa arrived.
When Majeni’s parents realised that their daughter allegedly had a child by the firebrand politician, they forced her to go into hiding.
Her mother’s family were paralysed by fear at the thought of being associated with Mandela, who had become a thorn in the side of the white-led regime. In the end, Majeni lost contact with Mandela.
Mothoa said photographs of Mandela her aunt had kept for decades were destroyed in 1976.
In 2003 the 64-year-old woman started her campaign to try to meet Mandela, but obstacles blocked her attempts.
“If they get the confirmation he is my father, I don’t want them to share their wealth with me. I have struggled all my life. I just want to know my roots and my family,” Mothoa said.
Last year an induna (village headman), Mbamatshe Majola, confirmed that Mothoa had been to Qunu in the Eastern Cape several times. “She told me she was Mandela’s daughter. I believed her,” he said. “The minute I saw her, I knew she was a Mandela. It was like I was looking at Tat’omkhulu (Mandela).”
Mothoa’s anguish was clear when The Star interviewed her at her home. “What more can I do to get them to listen to me?” she said, close to tears. - The Star