Response to Makhudu Sefara at the Sunday Independent
Makhudu Sefara, in an op-ed (Sunday Independent, 30 January, 2011) makes what is in our view an unwarranted personal attack on Sello Hatang, the Nelson Mandela Foundation's media spokesperson.
This attack is framed as an "analysis" of the statement issued by the Foundation on 26 January 2011, and focuses on the word "routine." It is necessary to briefly recall the sequence of events that led to the Foundation's statement.
Soon after Madiba arrived at the hospital, his daughter Zindzi Mandela called the Foundation CEO, Achmat Dangor, and urged the Foundation to issue a statement. She and other members of the family were being inundated with media inquiries. She had just seen her father, and as his medical team had just started their tests, it would be impossible to provide any detailed status on his health.
The words "routine tests" were then agreed to. It was always understood that a more detailed medical bulletin would in due course be issued by the SANDF medical team which is responsible for Madiba's health care.
But let us examine the use of that word "routine" that Mr Sefara uses as the basis for his scurrilous attack on Mr Hatang.