Nelson Mandela family lawyer accused of exaggerating former president's ill health
A lawyer acting for the family of Nelson Mandela is facing disciplinary action for allegedly exaggerating the severity of the ailing statesman's ill health to obtain a speedy hearing.
David Smith, who was acting for Mr Mandela's oldest daughter Makaziwe, his wife Graca Machel and ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, told the court in a statement that the 94-year-old was in a "permanent vegetative condition" and doctors had advised that his family think about switching off his life support machine.
The claim was made in a closed court hearing on June 26 but leaked to the media late last week.
The family have refused to comment on its veracity but Denis Goldberg, a family friend and fellow anti-apartheid activist, said last week that when he visited Mr Mandela, he opened his eyes and tried to speak to him.
He said Mrs Machel told him the doctors were advising "not even to think about" turning off his life support, adding: "They think he has a very good chance of recovery."
The claim that Mr Mandela was close to death prompted a judge to order an immediate hearing into Makaziwe Mandela's case to have the bodies of three of the former president's children exhumed and moved to a grave he is expected to share with them in the grounds of his rural home in Qunu, the Eastern Cape. Mrs Mandela won her case and the bodies were exhumed and reburied within days.
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