Eastern Cape police have denied reports that a warrant of arrest was issued for former president Nelson Mandela's grandson Mandla.
|||Johannesburg - Eastern Cape police have denied reports on Saturday that a warrant of arrest was issued for former president Nelson Mandela's grandson Mandla after he failed to appear in court.
“We did not say that the warrant was issued. He was supposed to appear in court but he didn't,” Lt-Col Mzukisi Fatyela said.
“We are trying our very best to ensure that he appears in court on Monday. There might be a warrant, but we are still trying to confirm that.”
Mandela was scheduled to appear in the Bityi Periodical Court on Friday on a charge of bigamy.
On Friday night Mandela’s divorce lawyer, Bertus Preller told The Witness website that the warrant had been issued, but that it had not been executed.
NPA Mthatha spokesperson Luxolo Tyali later confirmed that there had been discussions with Mandela’s attorney, and arrangements had been made for him to appear in court on Monday.
Mandela’s first wife, Thando Mabuna-Mandela, laid a charge of bigamy against Mandela in December last year, after he defied a court order not to marry a Pietermaritzburg woman, Mbali Makhathini.
The pair began divorce proceedings in 2008, after marrying in community of property in 2004.
It was his third attempt to tie the knot, after Mabuna-Mandela managed to annul another marriage, to Anais Grimaud, with whom he has a child.
Mabuna-Mandela's lawyer Wesley Hayes told the website that she had also succeeded in getting a court order compelling Mandela to disclose his financial interests and how much his estate was worth.
She wanted to know among other things whether Mandela had sold the rights to his grandfather’s funeral, as she was entitled to a share of these and other interests. - Sapa