JOHANNESBURG: A new book by a former South African military doctor that documents Nelson Mandela’s medical treatments before his 2013 death violates doctor-patient confidentiality, according to some relatives of the anti-apartheid leader and Nobel laureate.
But the retired doctor, Vejay Ramlakan, said in a recent interview on the eNCA news channel that the Mandela family had requested that the book be written.
While Ramlakan declined to say which family members had given permission for the book, his remarks could indicate continuing rifts in a family whose members have feuded over the years on issues such as inheritance.
The book, “Mandela’s Last Years,” covers Mandela’s health while he was imprisoned during white minority rule, during his tenure as South Africa’s first black president and in retirement.
It also focuses on the dramatic final months of Mandela’s life, when he was suffering a lung infection and other ailments before dying at age 95.
“It documents the complex medical decisions; disputes between family members and staff; military, political, financial and security demands; constant scrutiny from the press; and the wishes of Mandela himself, all of which contributed to what he and those closest to him would experience in his final days,” according to Penguin Random House, the publisher.
Mandela’s widow, Graca Machel, said she is considering legal action and will consult with the executors of Mandela’s will, South African media reported.
“We are deeply disappointed that the doctor appears to have compromised himself and the man whom he had the privilege to serve,” Nkosi Mandela, a grandson of the anti-apartheid leader, said in a statement.
He said the book might contain ethical violations.
In the eNCA interview, Ramlakan said he had permission to write the book and that “all parties who needed to be consulted were consulted.”
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Mandela’s ex-wife and a prominent figure in the anti-apartheid movement, was with her former husband when he died, according to Ramlakan, a former surgeon general of South Africa who headed Mandela’s medical team.
“She’s the one who was there when he passed on,” he said. “I think Mrs. Machel was in the house or busy with other issues. But I have no idea because I was focusing on my patient.”
Book about Nelson Mandela’s medical treatment stirs dispute
Book about Nelson Mandela’s medical treatment stirs dispute
Two Turkish tourists killed in Ethiopia
- Southwestern Ethiopia is home to semi-nomadic herders, notably from the Suri and Surma tribes, who are often armed to defend their herds
ADDIS ABABA: Two Turkish tourists and their Ethiopian driver have been killed by armed herders in southwestern Ethiopia, regional authorities said late on Monday, describing the attack as a “heinous act.”
The attack took place in the Suri district, about 330 km southwest of the capital Addis Ababa, and was carried out by “pastoralist bandits” on Monday morning, authorities in the Southwest region said on Facebook.
They did not give further details of the circumstances.
Southwestern Ethiopia is home to semi-nomadic herders, notably from the Suri and Surma tribes, who are often armed to defend their herds.
Regional authorities said they were conducting a “major law enforcement operation” to “pursue and bring to justice the bandits who committed this heinous act.”
Ethiopia, which emerged in 2022 from a bloody civil war in the northern Tigray region, is seeking to attract international tourists as it looks to diversify its largely state-led economy.
The Horn of Africa nation — the second most populous on the continent with around 130 million people — continues to face armed conflicts in its two most populous regions, Oromia and Amhara.
