Home

Mandela Graveyard – the resting place of Mandela’s parents

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Nelson Mandela was laid to rest in 2013, a few hundred metres from his Qunu residence.

Across the road on the N2 to Mthatha is another Mandela gravesite, where many other members of the Mandela clan are buried. On this burial site, lies Nelson Mandela’s father and mother and two of his children.

See Mandela Graveyard pictures below:

 

Local tour guide, Zimisele Gamakhulu says the Mandela graveyard is not a family gravesite.

“It is very significant, because most of their family members are buried here, like Mandela’s father and also Nelson Mandela’s cousins. It is actually a community gravesite.”

“What happened is that when Nelson Mandela came back from prison, he wanted to dig the remains of his two children that were buried in Soweto… he did that, and came down here (Qunu) with the remains… and he also wanted to erect some headstones for his father, mother and sister.”

Gamakhulu says the company that donated the tombstones is the one that put a Mandela Graveyard plaque at the site, without having consulted the community.

There are plans to open the burial site where Nelson Mandela is buried. According to a Mandela family member, the site should be open in time for the centenary celebrations.

For more on the story see video below:

 

Author

MOST READ