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Our nationalists, detainees and political restrictees are familiar with the term.

Today I ask whether the world is turning former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela into Muchemwandigere when in actual fact he was Muchemwandigere during his 27-year incarceration by the apartheid regime.

Since June 8 when Cde Mandela was rushed to hospital in a very critical condition, I have watched and read with disbelief and discomfort the reckless abandon with which the media have dealt with his condition, all of it being done in the name of informing people. Africa, it seems, is catching up on the fast lane of the information superhighway.

News-on-demand has made anything and everything cannon fodder.
Thus I totally agree with his eldest daughter Makaziwe who lashed out at some of the media excesses. Indeed, Cde Mandela’s stature is shaped in part by the media, but is there need for introspection by the media?

For, there is now no room for taboos, and no more, “Excuse us, please, we are Africans”. The desire to be the first to break the news has created cut-throat competition, but in the process, this has compromised on ethical behaviour and professionalism. In a number of cases you see a wide divide between truth and the untruths and half truths being peddled.

These challenges are playing out so well around Cde Mandela, who has been in hospital for more than three weeks now, with his condition reported as “critical but stable”. In some instances, the drama seems surreal, bizarre, unbelievable and, it is as if his past is being replayed – the fight against apartheid then, and him now fighting for dear life in hospital.

But I also write to ask why information about Cde Mandela has become so confusing with each day that passes. While the world is made to believe that he is fighting for his life, it has come as a major surprise for some of us to see numerous signs of people not only preparing for his eventual departure but his burial as well. Death is indeed inevitable for all of us, but why talk about death when there is room to sustain his life?

One report gave out details of a will they say he wrote in January 1996: “Nelson Mandela gave instructions that he should be buried on a remote rural hillside in a grave marked with a simple stone, it emerged Friday . . . South Africa’s former anti-apartheid leader shunned the suggestion that he be buried in the capital Pretoria.

Instead, he wrote a will on a single page of A4 paper instructing his family to let the state hold its ceremonies but then to bury him more than 1 000 kilometres away from his ancestral home of Qunu in the Eastern Cape.”

I’ll ask again why these details are coming out. Just because Cde Mandela is in hospital? Why are South Africans and the international media so eager to want him to go, pushing him off the cliff, as it were? The world has celebrated many centenarians, why throw in the towel on Cde Mandela? Who is responsible for this chaotic management of Cde Mandela’s life where the rumour mill and the talk of his demise are now taking centre stage?

I have read a number of opinion pieces where some accuse the Mandela family of failing to manage the media, and in the process also failing to manage his life and legacy. Some argued that the Mandelas should not have left the presidency to run the show.

Despite the regular updates on Madiba’s condition, my questions arise from last week’s events, a lot of which were in bad taste and raised eyebrows as people asked whether the reports from the presidency reflected reality on the ground. People started to doubt the official information after the Mandelas held a family indaba with the elders in his home village Qunu last Tuesday.

Initial media reports said the family was meeting to discuss Cde Mandela’s burial arrangements. There was also news about the burial site and the fact that the grave digger had already arrived in Qunu. Although some of this was later refuted, the damage had already been done and more questions were raised. When President Jacob Zuma cancelled his trip to Mozambique because Cde Mandela’s condition had deteriorated this again fuelled speculation.

After visiting Cde Mandela, President Zuma told the nation that his condition had improved overnight and although it was still critical, it was, however, stable.
You need to have clinical knowledge to understand what it means to be “critical” but “stable” at the same time.

Some observers went as far as suggesting that this was a cover-up by President Zuma meant to facilitate a smooth visit by United States President Barack Obama.
As visits to the hospital by members of the Mandela family also grew more frequent, so did the stories that came through both contemporary and the social media.

Last Thursday and Friday were the climax as most news channels including websites began to give live updates of what was going on. Commentators were also speaking about Cde Mandela in the past tense. Sympathisers from different parts of South Africa also descended on the hospital grounds singing, toyi-toying and holding night vigils. But, surprisingly a lot of these stopped on the evening of June 28 when president Obama arrived in South Africa.

As a person who would want to see Cde Mandela live his life to the full as the Lord willed for him, I was left wondering. What had changed in that short period?
The lingering doubts continued as President Obama made continual references to Cde Mandela. I couldn’t help but ask whether he was overdoing the eulogising, although I also understood the overwhelming emotions that Cde Mandela’s life invoke.

Former South African president F. W. de Klerk added his bit to the puzzle with a report on June 29, titled “De Klerk returns home for Mandela”. The report from his foundation’s website said in part, “Former president F. W. De Klerk has cut short his Europe trip because of former president Nelson Mandela’s ill-health, De Klerk’s Foundation said on its website on Saturday.

“Mr F. W. De Klerk and his wife Elita have decided to suspend their current working visit and holiday in Europe because of Mr Mandela’s medical condition,” it said. But as of Tuesday this week, there was yet another twist when there were reports that De Klerk had undergone a surgical procedure “to have a cardiac pacemaker fitted”. The operation was done in South Africa. His foundation reported, “Tuesday’s procedure of the implant of the dual chamber pacemaker was a success and Mr De Klerk (was) doing fine”.

The other incident that raised eyebrows was an alleged request by the British monarchy. On June 30, it was widely reported that Queen Elizabeth II wanted to “honour Nelson Mandela”. The UK’s Sunday Independent wrote, “In a historic move by the UK government, Britain has asked to hold a memorial service for former president Nelson Mandela at Westminster Abbey when the time comes – the first for an African and non-British citizen.

“The queen has also requested to attend such a memorial service should South Africa agree, reported the Sunday Independent. “According to the newspaper, Westminster Abbey officials have contacted South Africa with the request while acknowledging the sensitivity of the matter given that Mandela is still alive in hospital. It is understood the officials were motivated by a request from the queen”.

This one beats them all. What motivated the British monarchy to make such a serious request because it is unheard of that people contemplate a memorial service for a living person even though he or she might be critically ill? Who was updating the queen on Cde Mandela’s condition? We can throw brickbats at Mandela’s family members, especially those feuds regarding his final resting place, but is their conduct any different from what the world has done so far?

It sounds awkward to ask once again why there are some who would want Cde Mandela to meet his Maker, even before his time is up. Why are they doing this? Is money motivating this since we have seen lucrative businesses mushrooming, while Cde Mandela is on his hospital bed? Or, it is just recklessness?

Indeed, no one is happy about the reported family squabbles, but is the Mandela family the first to be embroiled in feuds? Have we ever spared a thought about his family, who in essence never had time with him since he started fighting the apartheid system? By the time he left Robben Island, they all had their own families. Meanwhile, he also became an international figure, who was transformed into a larger than life figure. The best we can do during these trying times is give them maximum support just as we did during those apartheid days when we never thought that their father would come out of Robben Island alive.

This way, they will find each other, reunite and realise that they have a responsibility – living Cde Mandela’s legacy now, and when eventually the Lord calls him home. We should also remember that like other nationalists he is a spirited fighter who has that tenacious will to hold on to life, no matter the situation.