Power shifts to daughter as Mandela's family argues over burial

Makaziwe Mandela, the former president's eldest daughter, in 2011. Photograph: Elisabetta A. Villa/Getty Images

Family anguish over the health of Nelson Mandela has been deepened by arguments over his final resting place, prompting a power shift that could see his eldest daughter emerge as the head of South Africa's most revered clan.

Makaziwe Mandela, 60, is believed to be in line to assume the title after Mandla, the anti-apartheid hero's grandson and traditional heir, conceded he had "overplayed" his hand in a dispute involving the exhumation of Mandela's three dead children.

The development came following a family summit called by Makaziwe last week in Qunu, the village where Mandela grew up and to which he returned in retirement, as her father remained in a critical condition.

Mandela's eldest granddaughter, Ndileka, last week confirmed the move. "My aunt Maki is the senior member," she said. "She is the elder in the family. It's our family and it has always been based on collective decisions."

Questions over the succession emerged as relatives discussed a painful question about whether to lay Mandela to rest close to his deceased children, a debate that raised the issue of Mandla's decision two years ago to exhume their bodies.

Mandela has three deceased children: Thembekile, killed in a car accident in 1969; Makgatho, who died of an Aids-related illness in 2005; and a girl also called Makaziwe who died as an infant in 1948. Mandla moved their remains from Qunu to the hamlet of Mvezo, 15 miles away, apparently without consulting the family. Mvezo is where Mandela was born and where Mandla is chief. At the time it was suspected that Mandla, also an African National Congress MP, was paving the way for Mandela himself to be buried in Mvezo, where Mandla has begun constructing a museum and other facilities. But last week, this appeared to be a battle he had lost.

The gathering of Mandela elders and relatives decided that all three children should be re-exhumed and returned to Qunu so that they will lie close to their father when he is eventually buried there. The decision was backed by a court ruling.

Mandla was contrite, according to Bantu Holomisa, a close friend of Mandela who was at the meeting. "There was no argument because Mandla said, 'I made a mistake.' He apologised and said he had overplayed it. The elders said, 'Son, you should consult us', but they didn't want a lot of argument. We didn't want him to feel he was facing a tribunal."

Mandela has three living children, all daughters, as well as 17 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. There have long been whispers of a split pitting the descendants of his first wife, Evelyn, against those of his second, Winnie. The potential conflicts have an added dimension in the shape of his third wife, Graça Machel. There are also widespread cultural assumptions around the supremacy of the male line. But Holomisa suggested that age trumps all. "Makaziwe is the eldest daughter of Madiba," he said, referring to Mandela by his clan name. "Then you have his other daughters Zenani and Zindzi. I think they are more senior than Mandla. He is a chief in a certain area, but the daughters are calling the shots. Madiba has taught them to have a meeting and decide things collectively." Further evidence that Makaziwe is asserting her authority came in a recent legal action that she and Zenani took to remove Mandela's long-time friend and lawyer, George Bizos, from the boards of two investment funds. Mandla opposed the suit, while Bizos and his allies claim it is part of a plan to assert control of Mandela's assets.

Holomisa has played down suggestions that the house of Mandela is at war with itself. Mandla has also denied reports of a rift. His spokesman, Freddy Pilusa, said: "According to Mandla, there's no issue. If anyone with authority wants to repatriate [the bodies] they can do so."

View the original article here