Post date: Jul 04, 2013 3:15:54 PM
The remains of former South African President Nelson Mandela's children are reburied shortly after his grandson delivers a bitter attack on the 15 members of the family who took him to court to force their exhumation.
QUNU, SOUTH AFRICA (JULY 4, 2013) (REUTERS) - The remains of three of former South African President Nelson Mandela's children were re-buried in Qunu on Thursday (July 4) after a bitter family feud.
Coffins were carried to the family cemetery behind Mandela's home, in the village of Qunu, where the anti-apartheid hero - now 94 years old in critical condition and on life-support - spent most of his childhood.The bodies were originally laid to rest there, but they were moved two years ago by Mandela's grandson Mandla to the area of Mvezo, where he serves as the official head of the clan.
Mandla has not made clear why he moved the remains the 20 km to Mvezo, where Mandela was born, but many South Africans believe it is part of a campaign to ensure the country's first black president is buried there.
Last week, a faction of the family led by Mandela's eldest daughter Makaziwe, sought a court order compelling the bodies to be returned to Qunu.
The high court in Mthatha, 700 km (450 miles) south of Johannesburg, ordered on Wednesday (July 3) that the remains be returned.
The three Mandela children buried in Mvezo are an infant girl who died in 1948, a boy, Thembi, who died in a car crash in 1969, and Makgatho, who died of an AIDS-related illness in 2005.
In all, Mandela fathered six children from his three marriages.