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Nelson Mandela

CAPE TOWN. – A new book describing former president Nelson Mandela’s last moments has been withdrawn from circulation, Penguin Random House South Africa (PRHSA) said in a statement on Monday.

The book, Mandela’s Last Years, was written by his doctor, Lieutenant-General Vejay Ramlakan. No further copies of the book would be issued out of “respect for the late Mr Mandela’s family”, PRHSA said.

“The book was meant to portray Nelson Mandela’s courage and strength until the very end of his life, and was in no way intended to be disrespectful,” the statement reads.

“However, given the statements from family members, we have decided to withdraw the book.” Ramlakan headed Mandela’s medical team until his death in December 2013. He retired from the SANDF in 2015.

Ramlakan wrote about Mandela’s admission to Mediclinic Heart Hospital on June 8, in a “serious condition”, according to extracts released to News24 this week. “On the previous night, we surmised, a sudden ulcer bleed and concomitant lung infection had probably caused an aspiration from blood that was being regurgitated,” he wrote.

On July 21, Mandela’s widow Graça Machel condemned the book “in the strongest terms”. She said its publication was a breach of doctor-patient confidentiality.

“I am taking legal advice on whether to institute legal proceedings against the author and its publisher,” Graca Machel said. The defence department on Saturday said the book did not represent the views of the department or the SA Military Health Service.

“The views and patient doctor engagements expressed in the book have not been sanctioned by the senior cadre of the department and the SANDF respectively,” spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini told News24. Social media users reacted to the withdrawal of the book. Here’s how Twitterverse reacted yesterday:

“Mandela’s Last Years seems like the only Mandela book I wanna read”; “Mandela’s Last Years is in bad taste breaks doctor/patient confidentiality even in death when there are many “cause unknowns” for that reason”; “As much as I think it is a great story, but I think some things are meant to be private. Mandela’s last years is out of order”; “Is Mandela not a public figure? Then what’s to hide now on his last days?” and “We should know everything about the iconic man (good or bad) – it’s in the #PublicInterest”.

Meanwhile, Mandela’s grandson‚ Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela‚ has confirmed the family’s “unequivocal support” of former first lady Graca Machel’s threats to take legal action over a new book detailing the stateman’s final years.

In a scathing statement Mandela accuses Ramlakan of violating Mandela’s privacy.

“We are aggrieved as a family that the privilege of administering to President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela afforded to the doctor appears to have been vilely abused‚” the statement read.

“We believe that it is not unreasonable to expect that the sensitivities entrusted to him by the family and those entrusted as custodians of Nkosi Dalibhunga’s (Mandela’s) legacy should not be compromised‚ or used in any manner that may be interpreted as pithy gain‚ or which does a disservice to the legacy and the sanctity of uTatomkhulu’s final moments.

“We are deeply disappointed that the doctor appears to have compromised himself and the man whom he had the privilege to serve.

“We want to assure Mamu Nosizwe (Graca Machel) that she is not alone in taking offence at the apparent violation of Nkosi Dalibhunga’s privacy. We believe that the sentiments that she has expressed find echoes in the hearts of all who love and revered the Father of our nation‚” it concludes.

The statement is the latest in a salvo of condemnation by Machel and others over the book‚ which hit the shelves on Monday. Last week the publisher of the book‚ Penguin Random House‚ said Ramlakan had assured them he received permission from the Mandela family and even handed a draft of the book to a family representative.

The book contains never-before-published information on Madiba’s various health conditions‚ including that doctors were worried he “might have died” when he stopped breathing on a chilly night in June‚ seven months before his December 2013 death.

Ramlakan also wrote that it was Winnie Madikizela-Mandela‚ and not Machel‚ who was at Mandela’s bedside when he died and that internal family politics negatively affected Mandela’s health in his final few months.

Ramlakan said he was privileged that the family gave him their blessing for the book. But Graca Machel said in a statement on Friday: “I condemn Vejay Ramlakan’s book Mandela’s Last Years in the strongest terms. It is an affront to and an assault on the trust and dignity of my late husband‚ President Nelson Mandela. It breaches the doctor–patient relationship of confidentiality and I am taking legal advice on whether to institute legal proceedings against the author and its publisher.’’ – News24/The Sowetan/HR.