Mandla Mandela’s Roadshow with Terror – Certainly Not Proudly South African

After inciting violence and publicly supporting Hamas and Hezbollah, Mandla Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela, was denied a visa to the UK in in October 2024. In the past few weeks he has been racking up frequent flyer points traversing the Middle East and attending various Islamist gatherings and conferences.

First stop was Doha, Qatar on 18 February for an international conference titled: “From Religious Freedom to Religious Responsibility: Peacemaking in a Destabilized World.”  The stated purpose was to explore the role of religions in conflict resolution to promote peace, dialogue, and coexistence. Somewhat at odds with the conduct of Mandla Mandela.

He attended the funeral of Nasrallah in Beirut, Lebanon on 23 February on which occasion he met with Nasrallah’s son and PFLP airplane hijacker terrorist Leila Khaled.

Back to Doha on 25 February where according to his social media post: “We met with the Palestinian resistance today to consider a number of matters of strategic importance.” He met with Khaled Mashaal of Hamas.

In a later post he said: “The Zionist entity and its western imperialist funders must know that there is nothing they can do to change our principled stance on the Palestinian struggle for freedom. We will resist occupation by all means until Palestine is liberated”.  (my emphasis)

He arrived in Sana’a, Yemen to attend the third Palestine conference which started on 22 March, coinciding with Iran’s International Quds Day. The conference was titled “Palestine, the main issue of the Ummah “(The Moslem nation or entire community is termed the Ummah).

Mandla Mandela addressed the Sana’a conference to a tumultuous response from the audience. With a clenched fist raised in the air he chanted the well-known slogans heard across the world “free free Palestine”, “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free” and “viva Hamas viva”. He expressed pride in the people of Yemen notwithstanding that Yemen is one of the few countries in the world still openly practising slavery. But such contradictions do not seem to bother the descendant of the man who delivered Africans from oppression and Apartheid in South Africa.

The Houthis who have declared their alliance to Hamas have attacked shipping and the US fleet in the Red Sea and launched ballistic missiles and drones at Israel. This has unleashed the fury of both Israel and the USA culminating in the heavy bombardment of Houthi positions.

Abandoning his cultural ties to his traditional Thembu community in South Africa, Mandela converted to Islam in 2016 and is now an executive member of the League of Parliamentarians for the Liberation of Al-Quds. This organization is part of the Moslem Brotherhood as of course is Hamas. It should be noted that he is no longer a Member of Parliament in South Africa having lost his seat in the 2024 elections.  He has diverted his attention from upliftment of his fellow South Africans to a questionable and dishonorable cause of Islamist radicalism and terrorism. The recent beheadings of 70 African Christians in the Democratic Republic of Congo in February are chilling reminders of the gruesome capabilities of Islamist terrorists. This atrocity was reportedly carried out by militants of the Allied Democratic Forces a group with ties to the Islamic State (IS).

Mandla Mandela has boasted about the South African achievements of “Ubuntu” as if he were his grandfather. The reality is that has strayed far from this unifying and noble concept espoused by Nelson Mandela and the founding African National Congress (ANC) leaders of democracy in South Africa. Ubuntu is a Zulu/Xhosa word signifying humanity and shared responsibility for others – “I am because you are”. It emphasizes interconnectedness, compassion, and community – in contrast to the racist and divisive policy of Apartheid. It is a powerful rallying cry still crucial in South Africa in building a non-racial, caring and free society.

The diplomacy of Ubuntu has been steadily eroding in South Africa under the foreign policy and corrupt ideology of the failing ANC. Having lost the 2024 elections, it is now forced into a Government of National Unity. Yet it still clings to its old struggle alliances with undemocratic dictatorships such as Cuba and Iran. Included among them, several Palestinian factions as well as Hezbollah and Hamas.

Times have changed and South Africa has pivoted from its Western democratic traditional support to ugly and decidedly non-human rights states including Russia and China. The antagonistic stance of expelled diplomat to the USA Ebrahim Rasool does not bode well for the people of South Africa who will feel the brunt of US withdrawal of aid, possible cancellation of AGOA and sanctions. Already experiencing a contracting economy as well as decades of high unemployment and hunger South Africa is no haven for foreign fixed investment with crime, corruption and failing infrastructure. It should be welcoming the USA as its second biggest trading partner, not alienating it. Mandla Mandela is part of this hostile undemocratic trend.

While the hostages in Gaza and coffins of hostages murdered by Hamas in captivity were paraded publicly in front of jeering mobs, Mandla Mandela was crowing about the Hamas victory and the defeat of Israel.

Some concerning questions arise about Mandla Mandela’s participation in these conferences:

• To whom does Mandla Mandela refer when he says “we met” with the Hamas leadership in Doha?
• Who did he represent there bearing in mind that he is no longer a Member of Parliament?
• Does he present himself as representing South Africa? Having dissociated himself from his hereditary tribal heritage, he still describes himself as from “the royal house of Mandela”. Does he still claim to speak as a royal persona?
• What is the role of the South African foreign affairs department (DIRCO), if any in the trips and events attended by Mandla Mandela? What relationship does he have with DIRCO, if any?
• How were all the travel expenses of Mandla Mandela covered?
• What matters of “strategic importance” did he discuss with Hamas in Doha?

The entire authenticity of Mandla Mandela’s posturing as an international emissary from South Africa promoting Palestine and terror is riddled with contradictions. He has endorsed terror and Hamas violence. His radical language such as resisting occupation by all means suggest both legal and illegal means – in total disregard for international law. This is completely in conflict with the legacy of Nelson Mandela and the democratic constitution of South Africa.  He does not promote Ubuntu or the values of South Africans and certainly there is nothing in his activities to be proud of.