his family about his funeral took place for years before his death. Mrs Machel and some of the children had refused to be party to arrangements about Madibas funeral. He was still in fairly good health and it was unthinkable to be planning someones funeral while the person was still happily alive, still being cared for by his wife. The quality of Mandelas medical care, which, as a former president, fell under the control of the Ministry of Defence, was a constant source of friction. At one stage, the possibility of replacing his medical team was raised by Lindiwe Sisulu, then the minister of defence. Mrs Machel felt hopeless and undermined ... The minister explored the possibility of replacing the entire team, but Mrs Machel felt that they would (figuratively speaking) crucify her if she dared interfere with appointees endorsed by the family. La Grange writes about an incident in Cape Town when a team of military specialists missed an appointment to examine Mandela owing to red tape. I enquired about the specialists and was told that they could not come to the house by themselves but were awaiting orders, like in any military bureaucracy, to be fetched from the hospital and brought to the house. When I called them and asked whether they couldnt drive themselves, I was told they were not allowed. After Mandela died on December 5 last year, the Machel family were told they would only be allowed five accreditation cards to the funeral, which included one for his widow, Graça. La Grange details the chaos during the FNB Stadium memorial service, when she had to improvise when Charlize Theron and Bono were refused access to a VIP suite and had to watch part of the proceedings behind a screen at the back of the stage. One of the most heart-rending events she describes is going with advocate George Bizos, one of Madibas closest friends and most trusted compatriots, to greet the family before the Qunu funeral. Bizos had been part of Mandelas legal team during the Rivonia Trial and had regularly visited him when he was in prison on Robben Island. The front door to the Qunu home was locked and they were refused entry. They entered through the kitchen, only to be told by Makaziwe: We dont want you people in the house. A frail Bizos was then grudgingly allowed to stay, but La Grange was ordered to leave. La Grange was also barred from the grave site and at least two of Mandelas household employees were pulled out of a row at the funeral and prevented from going to the burial. Makaziwe Mandela said La Grange would have to substantiate whatever references she made about her family, otherwise she will be sued. When the Sunday Times contacted her this week, Makaziwe said she did not want to hear what La Grange had written about her. I dont want to talk to you guys. Let her memoirs come out and Ill see what she writes about me. What Zelda writes ... Ill deal with it at that point in time. La Grange writes: I found it difficult and emotionally challenging to reconcile his last years and what we had experienced for 16-odd years with what was happening now. To say it was in complete contrast would be putting it mildly. Yet speaking out now, she is without anger. I am tempted to be bitter, she said, but how can I be bitter about one incident in my life when he was not bitter about anything? He pulls me back. And Mrs Machel has been my compass. For years she tried to teach me that you cant be responsible for other peoples relationships. Maybe it took this event for me to grasp the fact that my relationship with Madiba was the only thing that mattered. How I was treated by anyone else didnt matter.
Posted on: Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:03:22 +0000
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