Johannesburg - The ANC has rejected claims it used footage of a visit to former president Nelson Mandela to ingratiate itself with the public, the Sunday Times reports.
“That is plain bulls**t,” spokesman Jackson Mthembu told the newspaper.
He was responding to a question about whether the ANC used Mandela to bolster its relationship with the public when it was in trouble.
“What trouble?” Mthembu asked.
The ANC said showing the images of Mandela was the right thing to do as the world needed to see him.
“We are not talking about any granny here, we are talking about an icon of the world.”
The party's president Jacob Zuma, his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa and chairwoman Baleka Mbete visited him at his Houghton, Johannesburg, home on April 29. SABC journalists accompanied them and filmed the event.
In the video, posted on YouTube, Mandela is seen sitting impassively with a blanket over his legs. He looks blankly at the camera. A man holds a cellphone in front of his face and takes a photo using a flash.
In a separate article in the Sunday Times, Mandela's grandson Mandla said family members present at the home and who allowed the interview to take place should be held accountable.
“I just want to point out that the ANC did not just go to the house. There were family members who were there. People allowed it to happen.”
In an interview last month with London's Daily Telegraph, Mandela's eldest daughter Makaziwe said the footage was “undignified and in bad taste”.
“There’s not a single grandchild or child in their sane mind who would want their parent or grandparent to be exposed to the public in this state,” she told the British publication. - Sapa