Nelson Mandela’s grandson‚ Ndaba Mandela‚ has lashed out at Dr Vejay Ramlakan over his now-recalled book, Mandela’s Last Years‚ saying the former military doctor was a "loser" who was using Madiba’s name to make money. He also claimed the family was not consulted over the book as per statements by Ramlakan and the publisher‚ Penguin Random House.
"The family was not consulted; that is a lie. He should mention who and when he did this consultation. I [only] heard from people that read the news about the book. I didn’t know anything about it until then. So my reaction was‚ ‘Oh there goes another person trying make money off my grandfather’. What a loser‚" Ndaba said in a WhatsApp conversation.
His explosive comments come as Penguin Random House, on Monday, pulled the book off the shelves exactly a week after it first went on sale — and amid criticism from Nelson Mandela’s wife Graça Machel‚ executors of his estate, and the defence force over the contents of the book.
A few copies of the book remain in circulation‚ and owners have already begun receiving offers from people who want to buy the book at inflated prices. The comments also come as the Nelson Mandela Foundation said it was compiling a list of "inaccuracies" in the book.
Foundation spokesperson Sello Hatang said the list "will be published in a day or two". The foundation also welcomed the move to pull the book off the shelves. Hatang said they‚ too‚ were in the dark about who had given Ramlakan permission to pen the book detailing intimate medical details of Mandela’s life. "We don’t want to speculate‚ but we think it should be the doctor who tells us where he got this from‚" he said.
While Ramalakan did not return messages seeking comment — and Penguin Random House also refused to weigh in on the growing criticism — Ndaba said the family felt "betrayed". "Hopefully, people will still respect the man he was and not look at him as [a] patient. I’m happy to hear [the book] has been recalled. I think the man’s licence of being a doctor should be revoked‚ or at least investigated … seeing that he clearly violated the Hippocratic Oath‚" he said.
Although he would not comment on Tuesday‚ in an earlier interview with TimesLIVE‚ Ramlakan said: "The first requirement was the family’s blessing. It came about at their request as well ... when they had occasions to thank us for all the efforts over the years. It came very soon after Madiba had passed on‚ about three or four months."
On Tuesday, Penguin Random House spokesperson Surita Joubert said: "We are not giving any further comment aside from yesterday’s statement." In that statement‚ the publisher said it had decided to "immediately withdraw the book from the trade‚ and no further copies will be issued".
The publisher has done so out of respect for the late Mandela’s family. Penguin Random House SA accepted Mandela’s Last Years for publication after the author advised the publisher he had been requested by Mandela’s family to publish the book.
"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 publisher said. "However‚ given the statements from family members‚ we have decided to withdraw the book."
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