One of the most important personalities in South Africa, that played a vital role in ending the apartheid, Retired archbishop Desmond Tutu, was exempted from Nelson Mandela’s funeral that will be taking place on Sunday. The move has been described as a politically motivated snub.
The country’s ruling party, ANC has been accused of pettiness for exempting Desmond Tutu from Nelson Mandela’s funeral. Desmond Tutu was very vocal in the campaign for Mandela’s freedom from prison.
About 5,000 people will be attending the funeral that is scheduled to place on Sunday in Qunu, a village in Eastern Cape province where Mandela grew up. Amongst them are, Prince Charles, Malawian president Joyce Banda and many other dignitaries
“The archbishop is not an accredited clergyperson for the event and will thus not be attending,” Tutu’s daughter Mpho, chief executive of the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, said on Friday.
Desmond Tutu has become a strong critic of the ANC and even compared their regime to that of the apartheid era of South Africa.
Asked if that was the reason he was exempted, Holomisa said, “They cannot use that. Mandela and Tutu were like brothers. Mandela had time for Tutu and Tutu had time for Mandela. It doesn’t sound good at all.” Aubrey Matshiqi, a research fellow at the Helen Suzman Foundation, said: “It’s quite sad that he’s not been invited. Is it the family or is it the government? Is it both? Did the family come under pressure not to invite him?
“It’s a very bad decision, given how close they were. In the absence of a convincing explanation, it looks petty.”
ALSO SEE:Â Nelson Mandela Was On The US Terrorist Watch List Until 2008.
Read the full report from the Guardian
