24 October 2009
Former South African president and Nobel Laureate, Dr Nelson Mandela, has said he did not write the foreword to Sassou-Nguessso's biography, nor has he read the book.
Denis Sassou-Nguesso, the president of Congo-Brazzaville, who has certainly managed to make a splash, in his new political biography boasts, in large type on the cover, that it contains a foreword written by Nelson Mandela.
The foreword praises Sassou-Nguesso as "one of our great African leaders" which, as endorsements go, beats the Booker and Nobel prizes rolled into one. But the biography, Straight Speaking for Africa, appears to fall short of its title.
Mandela has issued a statement saying he did not write the foreword. Nor has he read the book. He plans to take legal action.
"This is a false claim," said Verne Harris, acting chief executive of the Johannesburg-based Nelson Mandela Foundation. "Mr Mandela has neither read the book nor written a foreword for it. We condemn this brazen abuse of Mr Mandela's name. We will be taking appropriate action."
The foreword says in Mandela's name: "In President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, I recognise a man who is not only one of our great African leaders ... but also one of those who gave their unconditional support to our fighters' demand for freedom, and who worked tirelessly to free oppressed peoples from their chains and help restore their dignity and hope."
That alone might have aroused the suspicions of readers aware that while Mandela helped end apartheid, won his country's first democratic elections and stepped down graciously after one term, Sassou-Nguesso came to power in a coup three decades ago and, after losing an election, regained it by winning a civil war.
Amnesty International's most recent report on Congo-Brazzaville said that human rights defenders and journalists faced threats, arrests and detention, while a number of people arrested after a disturbance were tortured or otherwise ill-treated.
Mandela, 91, has become a global brand with everything from Russian dolls and fridge magnets to innumerable streets and squares bearing his image or name. The foundation occasionally issues statements on attempts to exploit the Mandela brand, but rarely in language as sharp as that used yesterday.
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