Penguin pulls doctor’s Mandela book

Publisher Penguin has pulled a book about Nelson Mandela off the shelves after the widow and family of the former president complained that the doctor who wrote the book had not been given permission to do so.

Mandela died aged 95 in 2013 after a prolonged illness, and his doctor, Vejay Ramlakan, details the end of his life in the book Mandela’s Last Years.

At the time, media reports swirled that Mandela was on life support and was being kept alive for political ends.

His widow, Graca Machel, was not available for comment, but she was said to be consulting her lawyers on whether or not to sue Ramlakan.

The publisher also said Mandela’s grandson and leader of the Madiba clan, Mandla Mandela, backed Machel taking legal action against the doctor.

Nelson Mandela Foundation spokesman Sello Hatang said that the book should not have been published and that the foundation was not involved in its production. He welcomed it being removed from sale.

“At the moment we have been systematically going through the book. When we are done we will publish a list of inaccuracies,” he said.

Hatang said “indications from Mrs Machel at the moment are that there was a breach of doctor-patient confidentiality and we believe she’s within her rights to pursue legal recourse”.

In a televised interview on news channel eNCA on Sunday, Ramlakan said he had received permission to write the book from the Mandela family. However, he refused to say specifically who had been involved.

No representative of the Mandela family was available for comment.