Madiba still full of beans
18/07/2007 08:39  - (SA)  

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Kim Snyders, Beeld

Johannesburg - At the age of 89 former president Nelson Mandela is still the epitome of wit and charisma.

"How old are you? Are you married?" he asked Beeld's reporter at a quick photo session at the Nelson Mandela Foundation headquarters in Houghton, Johannesburg on Tuesday.

When the answer was "No" he responded quickly.

"Well, in that case you can come and meet one of my grandsons. There are so many of them that I've stopped counting," he grinned from behind his desk.

'What's her name again?'

Mandela was scheduled to have a quiet birthday with his family and to enjoy a "big" lunch later.

Zelda la Grange, Mandela's personal assistant, said Mandela's favourite dishes such as Mnqushu (samp) and mutton or beef prepared the Xhosa way in big pots, will be on the menu.

"He'll enjoy some wine or perhaps a bit of champagne with the meal. Although he doesn't really have a sweet tooth, he may give in and enjoy a koeksister, but he'll definitely have a piece of birthday cake," La Grange said.

"Just imagine a birthday cake with 89 candles on it! Breathtaking!"

He's planning later to join a meeting of a group of influential former politicians, who hope to tackle world problems.

Former US president Bill Clinton is planning to meet him on Wednesday at the launch of the Making Peace exhibition, at the (NM) Foundation.

The exhibition features photos and mementos from the lives of Mandela and Albert Luthuli, the former ANC president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Kofi Annan, former UN secretary general will deliver the fifth annual Nelson Mandela address, on Sunday.

But on Tuesday, Madiba put aside his busy schedule and posed for a few photographs.

"Yes, I can stand up straight. I come from a royal family where we know how to stand up straight," he said in La Grange's direction when she asked him if he would stand for a photo.

While being photographed he pointed at the photo of him with Oliver Tambo, former president of the ANC, and remarked that Tambo came from the same town as his second wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

"What was her name again?" he said with a glint in his eye, while the photographer clicked away.

- Beeld

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