MANDELA HAS NO WILL –REPORTS

Anti-apartheid hero and former South African president, Nelson Mandela, has no Will, reports have said in South Africa.   Consequently, how long Mandela lives now depends on when the family of the global icon takes a decision to switch off his life support, with the South African government denying that Mandela is not in “vegetative state”  as earlier claimed by doctors.     Mandela, renowned as the conscience of South Africa, was hospitalized on June 8, 2013, and has been on life support when his condition became “critical,” but later in “stable condition,” with a twist as doctors pleaded with court to allow the anti-apartheid hero die gracefully, describing the health condition of the 94-year-old as in a “permanent vegetative state.” Indeed, the fresh finding that Mandela has no Will may have added another twist to the denouement of the eventful life of the great humanist and world leader who brought South Africans to enjoy true freedom, after spending 27 years in prison for his believe in a free, multiracial, equal and egalitarian society.   Many people, including South Africans, have continued to wonder why, despite being friends with lawyer George Bizos, who presided over his 1956 treason trial, Mandela, himself a lawyer, could decide not to have a Will.

Said Jan-Bart Gewald, a historian specializing in the social history of South Africa at the African Studies Centre in the Netherlands, “I’m a little surprised at the discussion that’s going on at the moment.”  Gewald explained that, “Mandela is a lawyer; Bizos is a very good lawyer, and I’m sure they must have thought about this before he got ill.”  But the decision for Mandela not to have a Will may be linked to his disposition to life and what he represents to humanity and the world. Mandela was said to have expressed this opinion over the years that his wealth and money was intended to last for generations.

However, only last month, it was revealed in court that Mandela’s daughters, Makaziwe Mandela and Zenani Dlamini, were trying to defy the wishes of their father by attempting to access the family’s trust of $1.3 million. Other members of the family have been accused of trying to cash in on the Mandela name by participating in a 13-episode reality television show, “Being Mandela,” which is running on local NBC station, Cozi TV.  “I think the time has come that people are going to try and cash in on his magic, and you see this already within the family,” Gewald added, saying, “This is only just going to get worse.” And the grave condition of Mandela’s health has expectedly been slightly played down by the South African government.  According to the office of President Jacob Zuma, who visited the anti-apartheid leader last Thursday, Mandela’s condition is “critical, but stable,” adding that doctors have denied reports that Mandela is in a ‘’vegetative state.’’ The government stressed that Mandela is not in a vegetative state, contrary to recent court documents, with a close friend of Mandela also insisting that the anti-apartheid leader was conscious and responsive earlier last week.

However, a court paper filed June 27, 2013, concerning Mandela family graves, said affidavits would be provided from his physicians to show that Mandela “is in a permanent vegetative state.” Although a later filing was said to have dropped that phrase, both court filings, however, agreed that Mandela’s breathing was machine assisted. A close friend of Mandela’s, Denis Goldberg, told Sky News at the weekend that he visited Mandela on Monday and that Mandela was conscious and responsive to what he was saying. Goldberg also quoted from something Mandela’s wife told him. “There is no sign of a general organ collapse and, therefore, they do not recommend switching off the machine because there’s every chance that his health will improve,” Goldberg quoted wife, Graca Machel, as saying. “The matter has been discussed and the decision was against.”

The New England Journal of Medicine defines a “persistent vegetative state” as the condition of patients with severe brain damage in whom coma has progressed to a state of wakefulness without detectable awareness, and this was dismissed as not the condition in which Mandela is now.  According to Goldberg, the legal papers that said Mandela was “vegetative” might have been written when Mandela was in a coma or unconscious, and that perhaps Mandela then improved. Maybe he’s recovered a bit and that’s what I assume.” He said, “The lawyers can say what they like. I’m telling you what I saw.” But another court affidavit said that “the anticipation of his impending death is based on real and substantial grounds.”

The former president’s health is “perilous,” according to a separate court affidavit filed this week, explaining that, “The anticipation of his impending death is based on real and substantial grounds.” A South African doctor, Adri Kok, was quoted as saying that it was unlikely that a person of Mandela’s age, at 94, can be taken off mechanical ventilation, another word for life support, and recover. The court filing is said to have come in a case brought by 15 Mandela family members against a Mandela grandson who had moved the remains of three Mandela children from their original burial site. A court ordered the bodies to be moved back to Mandela’s hometown of Qunu. Many South Africans  were said to be bracing up for the death of the man they credit with bringing freedom to their country, as well as reconciliation following the end of the apartheid regime in the country.

Many of the citizens believed it is time to let Mandela go.  “What more do South Africans want?” said Bantu Dubazana, 22, an economics student. “He has given us his life. We need to stop being selfish and let him go peacefully.”  At the same time, many South Africans are unhappy over the drama surrounding his death, especially where Mandela is to be buried and those he is to be buried with.  “It’s a disgrace,” said Jenny Chidoba, 52, a bookseller. “Mandela has a good reputation and what they are doing is bringing shame to the family name.”
Mandela is said to have insisted that his grave should be in Qunu, the village where he grew up and retired to after being president of the country. But his grandson, Mandla, caused tension by exhuming the bodies of Mandela’s three late children and moving them to the nearby village of Mvezo, where he is chief.

Following a court order issued this week, police moved Mandela’s children’s remains back to their original resting place in the family burial plot where he is expected to join them upon his death. The family feuding drew a rebuke from retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who appealed to the family of Mandela to overcome their differences. “Please, please, please, may we think not only of ourselves. It’s almost like spitting in Madiba’s face,” Tutu said in a statement released by his foundation. “Your anguish, now, is the nation’s anguish — and the world’s. We want to embrace you, to support you, to shine our love for Madiba through you. Please may we not besmirch his name.”

Source: Daily Newswatch