Zwelivelile "Mandla" Mandela, MP (born 21 June 1974) is the

tribal chief 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 ...

of the Mvezo Traditional Council and the grandson of

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

. He graduated from

Rhodes University Rhodes University is a public university, public research university located in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, ...

with a degree in Politics in 2007.

Succession to the chieftaincy

His father, Makgatho Mandela, died in 2005, which paved his way to the headship of the clan. As the tribe did not discuss electing a member from the Mandela family until 2007, he was chosen as successor. Nelson Mandela had given up the right of

Thembu The Thembu Kingdom (''abaThembu ababhuzu-bhuzu, abanisi bemvula ilanga libalele'') was a Xhosa-state in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. According to Xhosa oral tradition, the AbaThembu migrated along the east coast of Southern Africa ...

leader nearly 70 years prior to fight white rule in South Africa. As the tribe now looked to him to reclaim his title, he suggested his grandson assume the role. When the younger Mandela became chief in 2007, he was only 32 years old and most of his duties were said to involve tribal ceremonies, settling disputes among clan members, and representing the tribe on political issues.

Career and education

Mandela has been a member of parliament for the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

since the 2009 election. Prior to both his succession to the chieftaincy and his election to parliament, he attended

Waterford Kamhlaba Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa (WKUWCSA), one of 18 international schools and colleges in the UWC educational movement, is located in Mbabane, Eswatini.. Waterford was the first school in southern Africa open to chil ...

, a United World College in Swaziland (now Eswatini), until 1995.

Personal life

His first wife is Tando Mabuna-Mandela. They married in June 2004 in a civil ceremony.‘Not my son,’ says Mandla Mandela
''IOL'' She successfully filed for divorce in 2018, and the annulment of his other marriages. His second wife is Anaïs Grimaud, a

French citizen French nationality law is historically based on the principles of ''jus soli'' (Latin for "right of soil") and ''jus sanguinis'', according to Ernest Renan's definition, in opposition to the German definition of nationality, ''jus sanguinis'' ...

born in 1990 in

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...

, who changed her name to ''Nkosikazi Nobubele''. They married in March 2010 in a traditional ceremony. She gave birth in September 2011 to Qheya II Zanethemba Mandela, who was presented to his great grandfather

at a naming ceremony in Qunu. In August 2012 he denied paternity, claiming it was the result of an affair with his brother. His third wife is Mbali Makhathini (or, as she is otherwise styled, ''Nkosikazi Nodiyala Mandela''), whom he married on 24 December 2011 at Mvezo. On 6 February 2016, he married his fourth wife, Raabia Clarke in an Islamic ceremony in Cape Town. Mandela converted to Islam about two months prior to the wedding, a requisite to marry into the Islamic community.

Grave controversy

Members of the Mandela family approached the Mthatha High Court in July 2013 to force Mandela to return the remains of three of Nelson Mandela's children to

Qunu Qunu () is a Xhosa rural village in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, south-west of Mthatha on the road between Dutywa and Mthatha. The Mandela family Former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela was born near Qunu in the village ...

. Mandela had moved them to Mvezo, without consulting the Mandela family in 2011. The family also laid a criminal case of tampering with a grave. A South African High Court judge, Judge Lusindiso Phakade, ruled in favour of the complainants. He ordered Mandela to exhume and rebury the bodies at Qunu.

References

External links

Mandela's grandson a Xhosa chief
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandela, Mandla 1974 births Living people People from Soweto Xhosa people African National Congress politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Rhodes University alumni Mandla South African Muslims Converts to Islam Waterford Kamhlaba alumni People educated at a United World College