Mandela Foundation claims foreword is a fake

An embarrassing row has broken out in South Africa between the governing ANC and its one-time leader Nelson Mandela. The former president claimed that the foreword to a biography of Congo-Brazzaville's leader Denis Sassou-Nguesso had been falsely attributed to him. However the South African government is saying that the words were indeed spoken by Mandela and that he is "causing embarrassment to the country".

The tribute in question, a foreword to Straight Speaking for Africa, reads: "In President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, I recognise a man who is not only one of our great African leaders... but also one of those who gave their unconditional support to our fighters' demand for freedom, and who worked tirelessly to free oppressed peoples from their chains and help restore their dignity and hope."

But the Nelson Mandela Foundation strongly denied on Tuesday that the living legend had ever made this statement. "This is a false claim," said Verne Harris, the foundation's acting chief executive. "Mr Mandela has neither read the book nor written a foreword for it. We condemn this brazen abuse of Mr Mandela's name. We will be taking appropriate action."

It does seem unlikely that Mandela would lavish praise on Sassou-Nguesso, as the 66-year-old doesn't have quite the untarnished reputation that the foreword boasts. Sassou-Nguesso took power in a coup 30 years ago, was ejected in the country's first free elections in 1992, then led an armed struggle until he returned to the presidency 10 years later.

However Welsh Makanda, the South African ambassador to - curiously enough - Congo-Brazzaville, claims that the words had indeed come from Mandela. "I have seen the book and the quote myself and I can tell you, the quote is true. There is no distortion of the quotation. It has historical facts that cannot be disputed," Makanda told the South Africa Times.

"I don't know where exactly it was taken from, but it is historically true. It has historical facts because it was allegedly taken from one of Mandela's speeches years ago."

Some observers see this as another example of the ANC under Jacob Zuma as using the former leader as a figurehead under which to achieve their own aims. As The First Post reported in February, Zuma was accused of kidnapping his predecessor to help his presidential campaign. ·