Makgatho Lewanika Mandela (26 June 1950 – 6 January 2005) was the son of
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
and his first wife
Evelyn Mase
Evelyn Ntoko Mase (18 May 1922 – 30 April 2004), later named Evelyn Rakeepile, was a South African nurse. She was the first wife of the anti-apartheid activist and the future president Nelson Mandela, to whom she was married from 1944 to 1958 ...
. He is the father of
Ndaba Mandela
Ndaba Thembekile Zweliyajika Mandela (born 23 December 1982) is an author, mentor, spokesperson, entrepreneur, political consultant, and the grandson of Nelson Mandela. He was born in Soweto, South Africa.
Mandela is currently the co-founder and ...
. He died of
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
on 6 January 2005 in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
.
Circumstances surrounding his death
His second wife Zondi died on 13 July 2003 at age 46. At first, her cause of death was given as
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
; after Makgatho's death, his son from his previous marriage
Mandla
Mandla is a city with municipality in Mandla district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Mandla District. The city is situated in a loop of the Narmada River, which surrounds it on three sides, and ...
later announced that her pneumonia had been a complication of AIDS.
When Nelson Mandela announced the cause of his son's death, he said: "Let us give publicity to HIV/AIDS and not hide it, because the only way to make it appear like a normal illness like
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
, like cancer, is always to come out and say somebody has died because of HIV/AIDS, and people will stop regarding it as something extraordinary."
Family and legacy
He was married twice. His first wife was Rose Rayne Perry (later known as Nolusapho). His second wife was Zondi. He had four sons:
Zwelivelile "Mandla" (1974),
Ndaba Mandela
Ndaba Thembekile Zweliyajika Mandela (born 23 December 1982) is an author, mentor, spokesperson, entrepreneur, political consultant, and the grandson of Nelson Mandela. He was born in Soweto, South Africa.
Mandela is currently the co-founder and ...
(1982),
Mbuso Mandela (1991) and
Andile Mandela (1993). Makgatho Mandela is sometimes wrongly referred to as the older son of Nelson Mandela, but his brother Madiba Thembekile "Thembi" Mandela was born in 1945. Thembi was killed in a car crash in 1969.
Due to Nelson Mandela having renounced his hereditary claim and Thembi's early death, Makgatho rose to become heir apparent to the
chieftaincy
A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom.
Tribe
The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia.
Tribal societies are sometimes categorized as ...
that had once been held by Henry Mandela, Nelson's father. Upon his own death, his claim passed to his son Mandla, who eventually succeeded to the title.
References
External links
Guardian article on his deathBBC article on his death
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandela, Makgatho
1950 births
2005 deaths
20th-century South African lawyers
Makgatho
AIDS-related deaths in South Africa