Mthatha, Eastern Cape - The remains of former president Nelson Mandela's children must be returned to Qunu for reburial, the Eastern Cape High Court ruled on Wednesday.
Judge Lusindiso Pakade made the ruling, after Madiba's grandson Mandla Mandela challenged an earlier court order compelling him to return the graves, which he had moved from Mvezo to Qunu in 2011, without the knowledge or consent of his relatives.
The exhumation will take place at 3pm on Wednesday. The original court order was made last week.
One of the lawyers for the Mandela family was heard saying outside court: “The hearse is on the way.”
Mandela's eldest daughter Makaziwe Mandela, her nephew Ndaba Mandela, and niece Ndileka Mandela were in court to observe proceedings.
The graves are those of Mandela's eldest son, Mandla Mandela's father, Makgatho Mandela, who died in 2005; Mandela's first daughter Makaziwe Mandela, who died as an infant in 1948; and Mandela's second son Madiba Thembekile, who died in a car accident in 1969. - Sapa