Pretoria - A police docket containing alleged evidence of grave tampering by Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela was handed to prosecutors in Mthatha on Tuesday afternoon.
A decision on whether to prosecute Mandla would be made this week, National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Luxolo Tyali said.
“The senior public prosecutor at the magistrate’s court in Mthatha will look at the contents of the docket and will make a decision based on that,” Tyali said.
“We expect that decision to be made within the week.”
Mandla, 39, admitted to exhuming the remains of three of the former president's children in 2011 in Qunu and moving them to Mvezo, where he is chief.
The remains were exhumed in Mvezo last week Wednesday following an order by the Eastern Cape High Court in Mthatha. They were reburied at Mandela’s home in Qunu the next day.
The court order came after an application against Mandla by 15 members of his family, including Mandela’s wife, Graça Machel.
Mandela has expressed his wish to be buried with his children at his rural homestead at Qunu.
Meanwhile, Mandla’s half-brother, Ndaba, has urged South Africans to celebrate the life of his grandfather, Nelson Mandela, rather than mourning him prematurely.
Mandela is in a critical but stable condition in hospital.
Ndaba said the family were encouraged that he had been responsive to them.
“A lot of the time we want to celebrate our icons when they are gone. This is the time right now. Let us take this opportunity,” Ndaba said on Tuesday in Tshwane.
“The old man is still with us. The whole family, we go see him and he responds to us when we speak to him. I want to tell people that this is a time to celebrate the incredible 95 years this great man has lived. It’s a time to be joyous,” he said.
Ndaba was speaking at a press conference before the first of English Premier League giants Manchester City’s two invitational matches in celebration of Mandela Day on July 18.
The former English Premier League champions take on SuperSport at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday before they face AmaZulu on July 18 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
“It’s a great moment for us, because Manchester City are a world-renowned team. And wherever they go, the world watches. Their coming here will showcase our beautiful country to the world,” he said.
For Ndaba, though, the Manchester tour to the country in honour of Madiba will be a bitter-sweet moment, with the former president not able to enjoy a favourite family past time - watching soccer.
Ndaba said he and his grandfather had shared many great sporting moments together.
“One moment that stands out was when we qualified for the World Cup in 1998 for the first time. I remember the whole house erupted. It was a wonderful moment. The old man was very happy,” Ndaba said.
He said it was sad Mandela would not be able to watch as he used to. “My grandfather loves sport and definitely would have enjoyed watching the game with us.”
The football invitational matches are in support of Mandela Day on July 18. This year’s edition has gained significance with the great man’s illness.
The Manchester outfit are one of the most expensively assembled soccer teams in history, and they will take centre stage in honour of Madiba.
Over the past five years, since being acquired by billionaire Sheikh Mansour, of the Arab Emirates, in 2008, the club has spent more than £1 billion on player transfer fees.
Soccer will be used in Mandela’s birthday month as a vehicle to commemorate and celebrate the global icon’s influence on society.
Four high-profile exhibition matches are to be played for Mandela over the next two months.
Bafana Bafana are to play Nigeria in the Nelson Mandela Challenge on August 14 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium. They take on Burkina Faso on August 17 at FNB Stadium.
Pretoria News