Nelson Mandela Foundation hits back at Mugabe
The Nelson Mandela Foundation says the narrative of the former statesman being a sell-out is an attack on his legacy.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has publicly criticised former president Nelson Mandela.
The 93-year-old has said Mandela made too many concessions towards the white minority.
"I asked one of the ANC ministers, how come whites have been left with so much power and he said it was because of your friend Mandela, he is the one who made mistakes," Mugabe said at a funeral.
"It is with weariness that we respond to his rehashing of an old narrative that either ignores or plays fast and loose with the historical evidence," the NMF statement reads.
The foundation says that those who find fault with Madiba's strategy for making democracy a reality in the 1990s need to better understand the measures put in place for restitution and reparation.
"While it is true that concessions were made during the negotiation period, President Mugabe's critique of South Africa's negotiated settlement rings hollow indeed. President Mugabe was part of the negotiations which led to a settlement for Zimbabwe characterised by the same kind of compromises he accuses Madiba of being responsible for in South Africa," says NMF CEO Sello Hatang.
The foundation says it encourages the Zimbabwean president and anyone who wants to interrogate Madiba's legacy and question his contribution to the birth of the new South Africa to do so, but to accurately examine relevant evidence and facts.
NMF also believes the responsibility for similar failures of implementation rests squarely on the shoulders of the man (Mugabe) who has been in power for nearly four decades.
"In 2008 Madiba spoke of the tragic failure of leadership in our neighbouring Zimbabwe. It is not surprising that today South Africa has to find ways to accommodate millions of Zimbabwean migrants fleeing an economy ruined under Mugabe's endless watch," the statement reads.