Nelson Mandela funeral: ‘Millions misspent’

TIL Desk/World/Capetown/ South Africa’s corruption watchdog has found officials misused millions of dollars during Nelson Mandela’s funeral four years ago. According to the report, 300m rand (Rs 142 crore) was redirected from a development fund to help with costs.

It had been earmarked for things like “sanitation, the replacement of mud schools and the refurbishment of hospitals”, the report stated. Instead, the authorities allegedly spent it on items like $24 T-shirts.

Allegations of misuse first emerged in 2014, months after Mandela’s funeral, which was held in Qunu, in Eastern Cape, in December 2013 and was attended by heads of state from around the world.

Now, almost exactly four years after Mandela’s death at the age of 95, the country’s public protector Busi Mkhwebane has asked current President Jacob Zuma to pursue the allegations further. The 300-page report describes how officials in the Eastern Cape pocketed funds, ignored basic rules, and inflated costs.