Mandla Mandela’s selective activism speaks loudly

Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla Mandela’s move to pursue anti-Israel campaigns may be viewed by some as positive, but it’s worth noting that he leaves a cascade of problems in South Africa which his party, the African National Congress (ANC), has caused and fails to address. 

It’s his party, which he represented as a member of Parliament (MP) for many years, that has crippled the government at every level. It seems Mandela’s approach is deficient in either compassion or basic common sense. 

His cousins, Zaziwe Dlamini-Manaway and Zamaswazi Dlamini-Mandela, Nelson Mandela’s granddaughters,  recently embarked on a life-changing journey to Israel and Gaza to witness the conflict for themselves rather than relying on biased media reporting, which further complicates this complex conflict which has lasted for several decades. Their encounters changed their views about both Gaza and Israel. Unlike Mandela, their views aren’t fixed. 

Mandla Mandela has used the Israel-Palestine impasse as political capital to remain relevant in international discourse. During his time as a traditional leader and politician, it was his duty as MP to hold those who continued to steal public funds accountable. Public infrastructure collapsed in his home province of the Eastern Cape, but he didn’t make a noise. 

Each year, the Eastern Cape records the highest number of deaths of children from diarrhoea and malnutrition, but Mandela and his fellow leaders in the ANC haven’t condemned these unnecessary deaths, which can be blamed on ineptitude, corruption, and mismanagement. 

In 2008 alone, 80 children in the Okhahlamba District Municipality died as a result of diarrhoea from unpurified water. As usual, Mandela didn’t utter a single word then because the lives of the people of the Eastern Cape don’t matter. Or was it because such challenges don’t draw media attention, and less political and financial interest than the Israel-Palestine conflict? 

In the first six months of 2025, about 70 children have died from malnutrition, which should be blamed on the corrupt leadership of the ANC, which continues to collapse the government in that poor province. There’s the  possibility that the number of fatalities could be higher than those recorded at public facilities. Last year, 107 children were reported to have died from malnutrition in the Eastern Cape. 

It doesn’t augur well that we have someone like Mandla Mandela, who becomes an activist when it’s convenient for him, but ignores other, more serious and urgent, situations in his backyard. It’s said that “charity begins at home”. This means that you should prioritise your own issues before you begin interfering in foreign places. 

The situation isn’t only dire in the Eastern Cape. There are parallel investigations into the criminal justice system by the Madlanga Commission appointed by the head of Cabinet, President Cyril Ramaphosa, as well as the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee doing the same thing. It shows that the country’s intelligence is on its knees and has failed to perform its constitutional duties. 

Mandla Mandela is aware that in 2024 alone, South Africa recorded 26 232 murders, surpassing the numbers coming out of war zones. He could start advocating at home to stop unnecessary killings by using his influence within his party and his kingdom. South Africa has problems where Mandela could play an effective role and help to transform the lives of the many, rather than grandstanding without any tangible results. 

• Kenneth Mokgatlhe is a fellow at the Middle East Africa Research Institute (MEARI).