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.”
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