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| Nelson Mandela: Grandson Mandla loses grave case | Nelson Mandela: Grandson Mandla loses grave case |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Nelson Mandela's grandson Mandla has lost a court battle against other members of the former South African leader's family in a row over graves. | Nelson Mandela's grandson Mandla has lost a court battle against other members of the former South African leader's family in a row over graves. |
| It involves the remains of three of the ex-president's children, which were moved from a family graveyard about two years ago by Mandla Mandela to his nearby homestead. | |
| A high court said the remains should be restored by Wednesday afternoon. | A high court said the remains should be restored by Wednesday afternoon. |
| But Mandla's lawyers have appealed against the Mthatha court ruling. | |
| Nelson Mandela, who remains critically ill in hospital suffering from a recurring lung infection, has expressed a wish to be buried in the family graveyard in the village of Qunu, where he grew up and mostly lived after he retired. | |
| 'Private family matter' | |
| The Mthatha High Court's decision is a major blow to Mr Mandela's grandson, who moved the remains in 2011 allegedly without the family's consent, reports the BBC's Mike Wooldridge from Mthatha in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province. | |
| Last Friday, 16 members of the Mandela family were granted an interim order for the remains to be exhumed and moved from Mandla Mandela's homestead in the village of Mvezo, the former president's birthplace, to nearby Qunu, 22km (14 miles) away. | |
| Mandla Mandela, who was appointed as chief of Mvezo by his grandfather, went to court to challenge it. | |
| The Mthatha High Court confirmed its initial decision and said the exhumations should take place at 15:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Wednesday. | |
| According to the South African Press Association, one of the lawyers for the Mandela family was heard saying outside court: "The hearse is on the way." | |
| But Mandla Mandela's fresh challenge indicates he will not comply with Wednesday's deadline. | |
| Our reporter says Mr Mandela's daughter Makaziwe, who was among the opponents of Mandla Mandela's actions, said as she left court that it was "a private family matter" and would remain so. | |
| In reality, the drama over the remains has been anything but, he says. | |
| The remains are of Makgatho Mandela, Mandla's father who died from Aids-related diseases in 2005, and his siblings, Thembekile, who was killed in a car accident in 1969, and Makaziwe, who died when she was nine months old. | The remains are of Makgatho Mandela, Mandla's father who died from Aids-related diseases in 2005, and his siblings, Thembekile, who was killed in a car accident in 1969, and Makaziwe, who died when she was nine months old. |
| The BBC's Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg says Mandla Mandela's plans to open a heritage centre dedicated to his grandfather in Mvezo, in the estate where the graves are at the moment, have left a bitter taste in the mouths of many within the family. | The BBC's Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg says Mandla Mandela's plans to open a heritage centre dedicated to his grandfather in Mvezo, in the estate where the graves are at the moment, have left a bitter taste in the mouths of many within the family. |
| Some family members have now laid a criminal complaint against him for illegal grave tampering. | |
| The police told the BBC on Tuesday they would investigate such allegations and a public prosecutor would then decide whether to press charges. |