Court orders Mandela to release child

The Pretoria High Court has ordered one of former president Nelson Mandela's children to allow a seven-year-old boy she's looking after overseas to spend Easter Holidays with his biological mother in Sandton, Joburg.

The biological mother (BM), who cannot be named to protect the identity of the child, applied for an urgent interdict on Friday afternoon.

The Mandela offspring was accused of breaching an oral agreement that allows the biological mother access to and communication with the child when the carer or surrogate mother visits the country.

The two struck the agreement after Mandela got married to the child's father.

The Mandela mother said that part of the agreement she had with the child's mother, when she took up a post overseas, was that she will allow the biological mother to communicate with the child and also give him time to be with her.

But the BM was shocked and surprised to see the child playing outside the Mandela mother's house in Sandton.

Lawyer Buthane Raseman, who was representing the biological mother on Friday, said: "The child told the mother they have been in South Africa over a period of two weeks. Before the child could say anything else, bodyguards took him and didn't allow the mother access to the house.

"She called the said Mandela several times, left numerous messages and e-mail but she didn't respond to any of the communications."

The court also ordered that the said Mandela must allow the child telephone, electronic or other reasonable contact with his biological mother while he is in her care overseas.

Stephen Thompson, who was representing the Mandela mother, said: "My client was shocked when she suddenly saw a lawyer's letter demanding the release of the child. She even replied that she can come and fetch the child the following day at 9am but she never pitched.

"My client had never refused the biological mother access to the child. Instead, she is the one who was not reachable on the phone all the time my client was trying to get hold of her.

"We [are] not sure what the motive of the application was."