South Africa: eight years after the death of Nelson Mandela, what becomes of his family?
Eight years after the death of Nelson Mandela, his family does not have the influence one might expect.
MICHEL CLEMENT, DANIEL JANIN AFP / Archivos
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
On December 5, 2013, the father of South African democracy would die.
Nelson Mandela passed away at the age of 95 from his home in Johannesburg.
The one who was an anti-apartheid activist, political prisoner, Nobel Peace Prize winner and the first president of post-apartheid South Africa remains an icon in the country.
His memory lives on thanks in particular to the important Nelson Mandela Foundation.
On the other hand, his family does not have the influence one would expect.
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With our correspondent in Johannesburg,
Romain Chanson
Nelson Mandela's 17 grandchildren live in the shadow of the Colossus.
After Madiba's death, his heirs instead tried to forge their own path.
There is no Mandela dynasty in South African politics.
After Nelson, president, there was
Zindzi Mandela
, a daughter diplomat who died in 2020. Then, today,
Mandla
, grandson and ANC deputy.
It is meager for such a prestigious name.
In the family, politics is synonymous with suffering, explains Ndileka, Nelson Mandela's first granddaughter.
“
People don't understand what the other side of the coin was for the sacrifices made by my grandparents.
The result is that we no longer have a taste for politics,
”she said.
Read also: Death of Nelson Mandela: the whole world in mourning
Ranged from politics, the Mandela grandchildren turned to humanitarianism, literature and entrepreneurship.
This is the case of Tukwini who founded "La Maison Mandela" with his mother in 2010. An art de vivre boutique that sells wine, jewelry or clothes and that wants to tell the story of a clan rather than of an individual, details Tukwini.
“
We first wanted to pay homage to our ancestors.
Then we wanted to tell the real story of House Mandela, but people seem to believe that my grandfather fell from the sky as one of those mythological gods, which he is not
”, emphasizes he does.
Today, the family is rather discreet.
After the event of Nelson Mandela's death, in 2013, and the inheritance quarrels that followed, everyone is now pursuing their own path without trying to follow in the footsteps of this giant.
An anti-corruption march, in tribute to Nelson Mandela was to be held on Sunday morning in Pretoria, but it was canceled due to the rapid deterioration of the health situation in South Africa.
The omicron variant is spreading very rapidly in South Africa.
As of Friday evening, the authorities identified 16,000 new cases of contamination in 24 hours.
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South Africa
Nelson Mandela