Mandela doctor's book is pulled as family objections mount

The book Mandela’s Last Years is being withdrawn with immediate effect by its publishers.

At the weekend‚ the executors of Nelson Mandela’s estate and his grandson Mandla distanced themselves from the book after former First Lady‚ Graca Machel‚ on Friday threatened to sue the author‚ Lieutenant-General Vejay Ramlakan‚ who was Madiba’s doctor for nearly a decade‚ arguing it breached patient-doctor confidentiality.

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Mandla Mandela said the family was “aggrieved” by Ramlakan’s book and gave its “unequivocal support” to Machel.

On Monday‚ publishers Penguin Random House South Africa (PRHSA) said in a statement the book would be immediately withdrawn “from the trade“.

“No further copies will be issued.

 “The publisher has done so out of respect for the late Mr Mandela’s family.

PRHSA said it accepted Mandela’s Last Years for publication after the author advised the publisher that 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.

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 “However‚ given the statements from family members‚ we have decided to withdraw the book.”

Among the claims Ramlakan makes in the book‚ released a week ago‚ are that it was Winnie Madikizela-Mandela‚ and not Machel‚ who was at Mandela’s bedside when he died. It also details never-before-published information on Madiba’s various health conditions‚ including that doctors were worried the former statesman “might have died” when he stopped breathing on a chilly night in June‚ seven months before his December 2013 death.

Internal family politics also negatively affected Mandela’s heath in his final few months‚ Ramlakan claimed.