Allow Mandela a peaceful 92nd birthday celebration, aides plead
Icon has been under increased pressure to make public appearances
Johannesburg: Nelson Mandela has come under increased pressure to make public appearances in recent weeks by those who seek to capitalise on his mass appeal while ignoring his advanced age, according to his entourage.
As South Africa hosted the continent's first football World Cup, the former president was inundated with requests for audiences from world leaders and celebrities.
His family repeatedly stressed his age and frailty when asked if he would appear in public and even issued a sharp rebuke to the Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, when he suggested Mandela present the tournament trophy to the victorious Spanish team.
Peace and quiet
As he celebrates his 92nd birthday on Sunday, the Nelson Mandela Foundation has appealed to the hundreds of thousands of his followers around the world to grant him his wish for a quiet celebration away from the public gaze.
While concerts, exhibitions and sporting events will take place documenting his greatest moments, he will drink tea and eat birthday cake at his home in Houghton, Johannesburg, with his large family.
The foundation is yet to confirm whether President Jacob Zuma will be allowed to go ahead with a planned visit on Sunday. Verne Harris, of the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory and Dialogue, part of the foundation, said despite a sprightly appearance when in public, Mandela recognises that he is "ebbing away".
"He has been signalling for a long time now, but in the last six months very determinedly, that he wanted to step away from public life," he said.
The foundation receives endless requests from businesses seeking to "Disney-fy" the Mandela brand.
"Everybody wants a piece of him and a huge part of our energy is devoted to protecting him from that," he said.
