Nelson Mandela, South Africa's Greatest Hero, Passed Away At Age 95
It seems that Nelson Mandela's state memorial service is a breeding place for many controversies. First, US President Obama was seen taking a selfie with the British and Danish Prime Ministers during the Tuesday event. Later, it is revealed that the sign language interpreter of the event is a FAKE.
By Sadho Ram — 10 Jun 2013, 06:42 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
I Was Part Of The Mob That Burned Two Men To Death In 2003, Says Fake Sign Language Interpreter
The bogus sign language interpreter at last week's Nelson Mandela memorial service was among a group of people who accosted two men found with a stolen television and burned them to death by setting fire to tires placed around their necks, one of the interpreter's cousins and three of his friends told The Associated Press Monday.
foxnews.com
The interpreter, Thamsanqa Jantjie, has told South Africa's Sunday Times that "it was a community thing, what you call mob justice, and I was also there."
npr.orgBut Thamsanqa Jantjie never went to trial for the 2003 killings when other suspects did in 2006 because authorities determined he was not mentally fit to stand trial, said the four.
nationalpost.com
Instead of standing trial, Jantjie was institutionalized for a period of longer than a year, the four said, and then returned to live in his poor township neighborhood on the outskirts of Soweto.
Nelson Mandela's Body Flown To His Childhood Home For Funeral And Burial
The body of former South African President Nelson Mandela was flown from Pretoria, where he had lain in state for three days, to this city in his native Eastern Cape Province Saturday in preparation for a state funeral and burial to be held Sunday.
sunnewsonline.com
The coffin of former South African President Nelson Mandela is escorted aboard a military cargo plane after a send-off ceremony at Waterkloof Air Force base in Pretoria Saturday. (Reuters)
Image via indianexpress.comIn an emotional ceremony, the military handed the body of Mandela over to the African National Congress, the party he led to victory as South Africa's first black president in 1994, ending white rule.
indianexpress.comMourners paid respects at his coffin, draped in the black, gold and green flag of the ANC, at a military base near the capital, Pretoria.
nst.com.my
"We are sending you back to Qunu," President Jacob G Zuma said in his eulogy, referring to the village where Mandela grew up and where he will be buried. "We hope you rest in peace."
sunnewsonline.com
Eight uniformed pallbearers accompanied the coffin, which was draped in South Africa's national flag, as it was carried to a waiting C-130 military transport plane. The plane was escorted by two fighter jets, lifting off from Waterkloof air base outside Pretoria in bright sunlight.
The Fake Interpreter At Mandela's Memorial Service Has Faced Murder, Rape And Kidnapping Charges
The saga of the "fake" sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela's memorial continues to grow stranger and darker: One day after Thamsanqa Jantjie, the interpreter, told reporters he was hallucinating during the ceremony, South Africa's eNCA reported that—over the past 20 years—Jantjie has been charged with murder, rape, theft, and kidnapping.
policymic.com
According to eNCA, Jantjie was charged with rape in 1994, theft in 1995, housebreaking in 1997, malicious damage to property in 1998, and murder, attempted murder, and kidnapping in 2003.
mstarz.com
Most of the charges were dropped after authorities ruled Jantjie mentally unfit to stand trial, and he was only convicted on the 1995 charge of theft, though it's not clear how much, if any, jail time he served.
gawker.com
Making Jantjie's history more mysterious: When eNCA found the court file for his 2003 murder and kidnapping case, all of its contents were missing.
[VIDEO] You'll Never Believe What The Fake Interpreter Was Actually Saying At Mandela's Memorial Service
In case you didn’t hear, there was a fake sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela‘s memorial service the other day and it was just hilarious (as well as totally disrespectful and kind of awful).
businessinsider.com
The guy was so bad at faking it that within minutes, audience members who don’t even know sign language were calling him out. He was so bad, that Jimmy Kimmel pointed out that he looked like a backup dancer for a 1990s boy band.
universityherald.com
Confused and perplexed over the man who had the audacity to do this, the late night comedian brought on a real sign language interpreter to tell us what the guy was really saying, if anything at all, and it’s as funny as you could have imagined.
latintimes.com
The "Fake" Interpreter At Nelson Mandela's Memorial Service Says He Was Hallucinating
As if this story wasn't strange enough: The "fake" sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela's memorial claims he was in the midst of a schizophrenic episode during the ceremony, causing him to hallucinate and hear voices.
Meanwhile, the company that hired the hallucinating interpreter has "vanished."
gawker.com
The interpreter, Thamsanqua Jantjie, told the Associated Press he first noticed something was wrong when he saw angels streaking into Johannesburg's FNB stadium. "What happened that day, I see angels come to the stadium… I start realizing that the problem is here," he said.
telegraph.co.ukJantjie said similar episodes have triggered "a lot" of violent reactions from him in the past, a prospect that—considering the number of security guards nearby—made him nervous.
"Sometimes I react violent on that place. Sometimes I will see things that chase me," Jantjie told the AP. "And remember those people, the president and everyone, they were armed, there was armed police around me. If I start panicking I'll start being a problem. I have to deal with this in a manner so that I mustn't embarrass my country."
The Sign Language Interpreter At Mandela's Memorial Service Is A FAKE, Says Director Of Deaf Federation
Deaf people watching the Nelson Mandela memorial were bemused and shocked by a "fake" sign language interpreter on stage whose gestures were unintelligible, activists said Wednesday.
nbcnews.com
DeafSA, South Africa's leading deaf association, condemned the presence of the unknown man, who appeared on stage with an official security pass around his neck as dignitaries including president Jacob Zuma and US president Barack Obama gave speeches.
abc.net.auThe man, who stood about one metre from many world leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, "was moving his hands around, but there was no meaning in what he used his hands for," national director of the Deaf Federation of South Africa.
The man has so far not been identified. Collins Chabane, one of South Africa’s two presidency ministers, admitted that the government had not finished investigating the matter because it has been overwhelmed by the task of organising the public viewing of Mr Mandela’s body in the South African capital of Pretoria.
[PHOTOS] World Leaders Join South Africans In Paying Their Last Respects To Nelson Mandela
Tens of thousands of South Africans, dozens of presidents and prime ministers, celebrities and street sweepers are all heading to the same place: a stadium in Johannesburg, where they'll honor Nelson Mandela at a memorial service on Tuesday.
cnn.comSecurity and government officials say they’re as ready as they can be for tomorrow’s memorial service for former president Nelson Mandela, who died on Thursday.
Mourners sing and dance as they approach the FNB stadium. #MandelaMemorial
Image via Richard AL Williams
Two Ministers Represent Malaysia In Attending Nelson Mandela's State Funeral
Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili will represent the Malaysian government at the state funeral of former South African president Nelson Mandela.
abnxcess.com
More than 50 heads of state and Commonwealth leaders are expected to attend Nelson Mandela's state funeral, including US President Barack Obama.
globalnews.ca
5 December: Nelson Mandela, The Former South African President Who Fought Against Apartheid, Has Died Peacefully
Nelson Mandela, one of the greatest leaders of modern times, passed away Thursday at his home in Johannesburg after a prolonged lung infection. He was 95.
South African President Jacob Zuma confirmed the news: "He is now resting. He is now at peace," Zuma said. "Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father."
He had been receiving intense home-based medical care for a lung infection after three months in hospital.
A state funeral will be held, and Zuma called for mourners to conduct themselves with "the dignity and respect" that Mandela personified.
nbcnews.com
Mandela still unable to speak, says ex-wife Winnie
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela said the 95-year-old remained "quite ill" but she dismissed speculation that he was on a life support machine.
In September Mr Mandela returned home after nearly three months in hospital with a recurring lung infection.
mirror.co.uk
The government has said his condition is critical and sometimes unstable.
He is no longer talking "because of all the tubes that are in his mouth to clear [fluid from] the lungs", Ms Madikizela-Mandel told South Africa's Sunday Independent newspaper.
"He can't actually articulate anything... He communicates with the face, you see. But the doctors have told us they hope to recover his voice."
"I have heard this nonsense that he is on life support - he is not," she added.
Nelson and Winnie Mandela raise their fists to salute a cheering crowd upon his 1990 release from Victor Verster Prison. He was still as upright and proud, he would say, as the day he walked into prison 27 years before.
Image via turner.com"It is difficult for him. He remains very sensitive to any germs, so he has to be kept literally sterile. The bedroom there is like an ICU [intensive care unit] ward."
Mr Mandela has been receiving intensive care at his home in a suburb of Johannesburg, which has been specially adapted for his care.
Nelson Mandela discharged from hospital, condition still critical
South Africa's president says Nelson Mandela has been discharged from the hospital in the capital, Pretoria.
President Jacob Zuma said in a statement Sunday that former President Mandela remains in critical condition and was sent to his Johannesburg home early Sunday, where he would continue to get intensive care.
Mandela's condition sometimes is unstable, the statement said. The anti-apartheid leader had been hospitalized since June 8 for what the government has described as a recurring lung infection.
Happy birthday, Nelson Mandela
In this July 16, 2013 photo, South African artist Paul Blomkamp stands by the giant acrylic-on-canvas painting he has made of former South African President Nelson Mandela, at his studio in Johannesburg.
Image via thehindu.comSouth Africa celebrated Nelson Mandela’s 95th birthday on Thursday, a milestone capped by news that the former President’s health was improving after fears that he was close to death during ongoing hospital treatment.
"On behalf of government and all the people of South Africa, we wish Madiba a joyous 95th birthday." In celebrations across the country, schoolchildren and admirers gathered to sing "Happy Birthday" to Mandela.
Mandela’s wife: Nelson Mandela remains in critical condition at hospital but responding to treatment
Graca Machel, wife of ailing former South African President Nelson Mandela has said that she is less anxious now because the 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader is responding to treatment.
People in South Africa and around the world have expressed concern for Mandela, sending messages of support for a man seen as a global symbol of reconciliation. Mandela turns 95 on July 18, when commemorations will be held in his honor.
foxnews.com
Doctors advise Nelson Mandela's family to unplug his life support
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, center, is embraced by her daughter Zindzi Mandela, second from left, as the leaves the Mediclinic Heart Hospital on Thursday evening Photo: AP
Image via telegraph.co.ukDoctors treating Nelson Mandela said he was in a "permanent vegetative state" and advised his family to turn off his life support machine, according to court documents dated June 26, obtained by AFP today.
The doctors provided the advice in a legal filing related to a Mandela family dispute over the reburying the remains of three of Mr Mandela's children.
dailystar.co.uk
"Rather than prolonging his suffering, the Mandela family is exploring this option as a very real probability," read a filing from the family's lawyer, relating to a dispute over the final resting place of Mandela's three children.
deccanchronicle.com
"He is in a permanent vegetative state and is assisted in breathing by a life support machine," read the document, submitted last week during a family dispute over burial rights.
Nelson Mandela's grandson Mandla charged with tampering with graves of other relatives
L-R: Nelson Mandela's daughter Makaziwe Mandela, grandson Ndaba Mandela and grandaughter Ndileka Mandela on July 2, 2013 (AFP, Carl de Souza)
Image via google.com
L-R: Nelson Mandela's grandaughter Ndileka Mandela, daughter Makaziwe Mandela and grandson Ndaba Mandela on July 2, 2013 (AFP, Carl de Souza)
Image via google.com
Mandla Mandela (L), his wife Nodiyala (R) and family pray during a service for Nelson Mandela on June 30, 2013 in Qunu (AFP/File)
Image via google.comNelson Mandela's grandson faces criminal charges after moving the remains of the former president's children from the family plot where the ailing apartheid icon wants to be buried.
yahoo.comThe grandson Mandla allegedly had the remains of three of Mandela's children moved from the revered leader's ancestral village of Qunu in 2011 without the rest of the family's consent.
google.comMandela, who remains critically ill in what is now his fourth week in hospital, had expressed his wish to be buried in Qunu, and his daughters want to have the children's remains transferred so they can be together.
iol.co.zaA complaint of tampering with a grave was made against Mandla on Tuesday by family members at a police station near the southern city of Mthatha, police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela told AFP.
google.comNelson Mandela's health is showing great improvement, says ex-wife
South Africa's ailing anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela is showing "great improvement", his former wife said today as his countrymen continued to pray for the speedy recovery of the 94-year-old former president.
indianexpress.com"I'm not a doctor but I can say that from what he was a few days ago there is great improvement," Winnie Madikizela-Mandela told reporters outside his former home in Orlando, Soweto.
deccanherald.comThe medical condition of Mandela, South Africa's first black president, has improved slightly from an earlier "critical" state, the country's Presidency said yesterday.
indianexpress.comOfficial says Nelson Mandela on life support; Obama says Mandela is a hero for the world
South Africans lit candles outside the hospital where Nelson Mandela lay Wednesday as an official says the former president is on life support.
cnn.comAn official briefed on his condition said he was on life support, but government spokesman Mac Maharaj declined to comment on the report, citing doctor-patient confidentiality.
U.S. president begins tour of Africa with speech describing his personal memories of the ailing former leader of South Africa Nelson Mandela is “a hero for the world”, Barack Obama said on Thursday
“He is a personal hero, but I’m not unique in that regard,” the U.S. president said. “I think he’s a hero for the world and if/when he passes, we know his legacy will linger on throughout the ages.”
Nelson Mandela remains in serious condition as his hospital stay continues
Former South African President and anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela continues to get better in hospital but is still in a serious condition as he recovers
carbonated.tv
Former South African President Nelson Mandela is engaging with his family and seeing improvement from the recurring lung infection that forced him to spend a ninth day in the hospital Sunday, the president said.
Relatives of Nelson Mandela have visited the former South African president in a hospital where he is being treated for a lung infection.
usatoday.com
Zuma said the 94-year-old former president remained in a serious condition, but doctors have said that improvements have been sustained over the last two days.
guardian.co.uk
Nelson Mandela hospitalized for serious lung infection for the fourth time
Nelson Mandela, who turns 95 next month, was whisked to a Pretoria hospital in the early hours of Saturday for his fourth hospital stay in seven months.
theaustralian.com.au
The anti-apartheid icon was once again suffering from pneumonia, after he was discharged in April for the same condition, said Maharaj.
theaustralian.com.au
His condition was described as ‘serious but stable’ by government officials who have previously played down fears about his ailing health.
dailymail.co.uk"His condition deteriorated to the point where it was found necessary to hospitalise him," he said. "But I am told by the doctors that he is breathing on his own, so I think that is a positive side," he added.
theaustralian.com.au
South Africa holding on to hope for Nelson Mandela
There is a sense of calm across South Africa, and also a quiet hope that the man who led the fight against apartheid may regain his strength once again.
The ruling ANC called for people at home and abroad to keep "our beloved statesman and icon, Madiba" in their thoughts and prayers.
theaustralian.com.au
At churches across the country, South Africans have gathered to pray for their first black President, who led the struggle against white minority rule.
Newspapers have been filled with the thoughts and good wishes of people across the world, including from Downing Street and the White House.
"I think it's just a natural experience that everybody wants to hold on to him as much as possible," acting priest Father Sebastian Rossouw said.
"He's always in our prayers."
His close friend says its time to let him go
Mandela's friend Andrew Mlangeni said it is important his family and the South African public come to terms with the possibility that he will one day die.
"You [Mandela] have been coming to the hospital too many times. Quite clearly you are not well and there is a possibility you might not be well again.
Mr Mlangeni said: ‘The family must release him spiritually and put their faith in the hands of God.
‘Once the family releases him, the people of South Africa will follow.’
metro.co.uk
Nelson Mandela's has had history of lung infections dating back to his prison life
Mandela, 94, has been hospitalised four times since December with a recurring lung infection. The last time, in April, he was diagnosed with pneumonia and had to have fluid drained from his chest.
In December, Mandela spent 18 days in hospital, his longest stint since walking free from 27 years in jail in 1990.
In March he was admitted for an overnight scheduled check-up before returning that month for 10 days.
theaustralian.com.au
His history of lung problems dates to when he was a political prisoner on Robben Island during apartheid, and he has battled respiratory infections, including Tuberculosis over the years.
malaysiandigest.comNelson Mandela, the hero of South Africa's demoncracy
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.
google.com.myThe Nobel peace laureate is revered as a symbol of forgiveness after leading South Africa into multi-race democracy as its first black president after decades of apartheid rule.
theaustralian.com.au
Becoming actively involved in the anti-apartheid movement in his 20s, Mandela joined the African National Congress in 1942. For 20 years, he directed a campaign of peaceful, non-violent defiance against the South African government and its racist policies.
biography.com
Nelson Mandela never wavered in his devotion to democracy, equality and learning. Despite terrible provocation, he never answered racism with racism. His life has been an inspiration to all who are oppressed and deprived, to all who are opposed to oppression and deprivation.
nelsonmandela.org