Complaint to be lodged against Mandela family lawyers for misleading courts on Mandela's condition

A complaint will be lodged against the Mandela family's lawyers for misleading the courts on the condition of former president Nelson Mandela's health, his grandson Mandla Mandela's lawyer said on Saturday. A formal complaint would be lodged by Monday morning, Mandla's lawyer Gary Jansen said in remarks published by the South African Press Association (SAPA). "We still need to formalize the complaint but certainly on my client's side he has instructed me to lay a complaint both to the Law Society and the bar council," Jansen said. The complaint relates to an affidavit submitted by the 15 members of the Mandela family in an application to exhume the remains of Mandela's three children. "The point is they applied to court as a matter of urgency and they relied on certain affidavits in particular with regards to the health of the former president which wasn't true," Jansen said. "We feel it should be investigated further," Jansen said. The affidavits, submitted to the Eastern Cape High Court, described Mandela's health as perilous, and claimed he was in "a permanent vegetative state" and was being assisted in breathing by a life support machine. The papers were not signed by Mandela family members and were used only to convince the court to hear the case on an urgent basis, court sources said. The family members wanted the court to order the return the remains of Mandela's three children from Mvezo to Qunu without delay, said the sources. In 2011, Mandla removed the remains from Qunu to Mvezo where Mandla is the chief of the traditional council, without the approval of other family members, prompting them to file a lawsuit against him. The document was widely reported by local and international media. The Presidency was quick to clarify on Mandela's health Thursday night after rumors spread. "The doctors deny that the former President is in a vegetative state," presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said. "We confirm our earlier statement released this afternoon (Thursday) after President Jacob Zuma visited Madiba in hospital that Madiba (Mandela's clan name) remains in a critical, but stable condition." Mandela's wife Graca was also speaking to defuse confusion. She said: "Although Madiba sometimes may be uncomfortable, very few times he is in pain. But he is fine." Mandela has been hospitalized since June 8 for a recurring lung infection.