Close friend of late icon Mandela,
Desmond Tutu on Saturday disclosed
that he was not invited to the burial
of his co-freedom fighter, Nelson
Mandela, amid allegations he was
snubbed for political reasons.
“Much as I would have loved to attend
the service to say a final farewell to
someone I loved and treasured, it would
have been disrespectful to Tata to
gatecrash what was billed as a private
family funeral,” Tutu said in a statement.
“Had I or my office been informed that I
would be welcome, there is no way on
earth that I would have missed it.”
Tutu reportedly cancelled a Friday flight to
Eastern Cape “after receiving no
indication that his name was on any guest
or accreditation list”.
Earlier, the Nobel laureate’s daughter,
Mpho Tutu, told AFP that he would not
attend because he “is not an accredited
clergyperson for the event”.
However, Tutu’s account of the events
was at odds with that given by the
government of President Jacob Zuma,
which the clergyman has publicly
criticised.
Amid public outcry, President Zuma
insisted that Archbishop Tutu was on the
list of invited guests to the burial.
“I have been checking and he is definitely
on the list,” Presidential Spokesman, Mac
Maharaj told AFP, adding that he was
“taken aback” by the news.
He said Archbishop Tutu was not “an
ordinary church person.”
“He is a special person in our country and
he is definitely on the list,” said Maharaj,
promising to sort out any
misunderstanding that may have arisen.
He assured that the problem will be
ironed out. “If there’s any problem, we
will try to iron that out, but I can assure
you that he is on the programme.”