In the battle of the contested foreword, the Mandelas have regrouped and are pushing back - not just against Congo-Brazzaville president Denis Sassou-Nguesso, but against Tokyo Sexwale, too:
Madiba’s daughters have decided to take on Tokyo Sexwale and Denis Sassou-Nguesso over the Congolese president’s semi-autobiographical book and Nelson Mandela’s disputed foreword to it.
In an exclusive interview with Independent Newspapers yesterday, Zindzi Mandela and her older sister Zenani Dlamini said they will not let the matter rest until the full truth is told, saying that they have the support of their mother, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, “100 percent”.
The controversy erupted when Straight Speaking for Africa hit the shelves earlier this year, complete with a foreword by Madiba, drawing on an alleged speech he made in 1996 in Cape Town when he was president.
It later transpired that it was the human settlements minister, who is also a member of the Nelson Mandela Foundation board, who authorised the use of the speech, though on the express conditions that it not be used as a foreword or a preface.
However, according to the foundation and the daughters, there is no written record of the speech in either the presidency’s or the foundation’s archives.
Book details
Please register or log in to comment
