Rift over Mandela companies deepens

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A granddaughter of Nelson Mandela has harshly criticized a longtime associate of the former president and anti-apartheid leader, in an escalation of a dispute over funds linked to one of the world's most revered figures.

Tukwini Mandela accused lawyer George Bizos of insulting her mother, slandering the Mandela family name and spreading "blatant lies and innuendo" in a bitter rift over control of two companies linked to 94-year-old Mandela. The main purpose of the companies is to channel funds from the sale of handprint artwork by Mandela for the benefit of his family.

"Please have the decency to behave as an elder if you care for my grandfather and his name, which catapulted you into undeserved stardom," Tukwini Mandela wrote in an open letter that was emailed to The Associated Press on Tuesday. She urged Bizos, a stalwart of the struggle for equal rights in South Africa, to act in a manner "befitting of your status" in society.

The disagreement comes as Nelson Mandela, who last appeared in public in 2010, receives medical care at his Johannesburg home after several hospital visits in recent months. He is seen globally as a symbol of reconciliation and sacrifice after spending 27 years in prison during racist white rule and then leading South Africa's transition to democratic, all-race elections in 1994.

The dispute over the funds troubles many South Africans for whom corruption, high crime rates and economic inequality have tainted the new South Africa. Mandela was South Africa's first black president and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Makaziwe Mandela, Tukwini's mother, and Makaziwe's sister Zenani have launched a court case against Bizos and two other associates of Nelson Mandela, alleging they should not remain directors of Harmonieux Investment Holdings and Magnifique Investment Holdings because they were not properly appointed. The case also alleges that the trio has neglected its duties at the helm of the companies.

Earlier this week, The Star newspaper quoted 84-year-old Bizos, who defended Mandela during the apartheid years, as saying Makaziwe Mandela's goal was to take some company money, estimated to be $1.3 million, without providing details of how it would be used.

"This woman wanted to take over the money, not for any specific purpose, and distribute it to members of the family," he said. "That is contrary to the provisions of the trust. Therefore we refused to give her the money."

The AP telephoned Bizos' office and home to seek a response to Tukwini Mandela's letter, but was told that he was away on legal work. Bizos does not carry a cellular telephone. Norton Rose, a Johannesburg law firm representing Bizos in the dispute with Mandela's daughters, declined to comment on the letter, saying in a statement that Bizos' position will be outlined in papers likely to be filed in court in mid-May.

In an interview last week with South Africa's Talk Radio 702, Norton Rose director Michael Hart said Nelson Mandela gave "explicit instructions" for Bizos and two associates, lawyer Bally Chuene and Tokyo Sexwale, a businessman and politician, to oversee the disputed companies. They have done so "without any charge or remuneration," he said.

In the letter, Tukwini Mandela said her mother is a "highly educated and accomplished businesswoman in her own right," and that Bizos' reported comments showed a lack of respect for Nelson Mandela and his advocacy on behalf of women.

"I doubt you would ever refer to the women in your life as 'this woman,'" Tukwini Mandela wrote.

"You and your peddlers of falsehood have spent the whole of last week casting aspersions on my family, spreading blatant lies and innuendo, hoping that a trial through the media will deter us from defending our name and legacy," she wrote.

Tukwini Mandela is the marketing director of House of Mandela, a winemaking company. Two other granddaughters of Mandela are starring in a U.S. television reality show titled "Being Mandela."

Bizos, who was born in Greece, defended Mandela during the Rivonia trial in 1960s that led to the African National Congress leader's conviction on sabotage charges and a sentence of life imprisonment.

Bizos works at the Legal Resources Center, a human rights group in South Africa. He has recently cross-examined the national police commissioner and other witnesses before a panel investigating the shooting deaths of 34 striking miners by police last year.

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South Africans give thanks for Mandela improvement

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Some South Africans have given thanks in Sunday prayers for the improvement in the health of Nelson Mandela, the former president who was discharged from a hospital after treatment for pneumonia.

Members of an outdoor congregation in Johannesburg say 94-year-old Mandela was in their thoughts often during his most recent hospitalization. The anti-apartheid leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate was admitted to a hospital in the South African capital of Pretoria on the night of March 27 and was discharged on Saturday.

Knowledge Modisa, a South African advertising manager, says she and other worshippers have been putting Mandela "first" in their prayers.

Mandela spent 27 years in prison during the period of white racist rule that ended with his election to the presidency in a democratic vote in 1994.

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South Africa: Mandela discharged from the hospital

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The South African presidency says former President Nelson Mandela has been discharged from a hospital after an improvement in his condition.

A statement from the office of President Jacob Zuma says 94-year-old Mandela was discharged on Saturday and will now receive care at his home. Officials say he was treated for pneumonia.

Mandela was admitted to a hospital in the South African capital of Pretoria on the night of March 27. It was his third trip to a hospital since December.

In the statement, Zuma thanked the medical team and hospital staff that looked after Mandela.

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SAfrica: Balloonist flies from old Mandela jail

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A man has strapped himself to large balloons filled with helium and floated from the island where Nelson Mandela was kept prisoner to the shores of the South African mainland.

The goal of Saturday's trip from Robben Island was to help raise money for the building of a children's hospital that will carry the name of the 94-year-old former president and anti-apartheid leader. Mandela was discharged Saturday from a hospital after treatment for pneumonia.

Balloonist Matt Silver-Vallance, a South African-born manager at a medical device company, dropped a rope near the coastline and a sea rescue craft pulled him to safety.

He had hoped to raise $1 million for the hospital, but organizers of the charity event have not yet announced the final tally.

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SAfrica: Balloonist to fly from old Mandela jail

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The power of ideas nourished Nelson Mandela during his confinement on Robben Island, but even this visionary might not have imagined the surreal scene planned for this month at the outpost where he spent 18 of 27 years as a prisoner of apartheid.

Wind speed and direction permitting, a man in a harness will strap himself to 200 big balloons filled with helium, float off the island beneath a bulging latex column of color, and drift to the shores of Cape Town for a charitable cause.

There are a few things he wants to avoid: an international airport, a major harbor, a nuclear power station, and the odd shark in the waters below.

"Apart from all those hazards, there's nothing to worry about," said Matt Silver-Vallance, a South African-born manager at a medical device company who will pilot the whimsical craft.

Civil aviation authorities say they are satisfied with safeguards for what should be a lazy meander in the breeze rather than an edge-of-your-seat stunt.

The goal of the trip is to raise $1 million to help build a children's hospital named after 94-year-old Mandela, who became South Africa's first black president in democratic elections in 1994 after negotiating an end to white racist rule.

Mandela was admitted last week to a Pretoria hospital because of a recurrence of pneumonia, prompting expressions of concern from South Africans and people around the world. On Monday, the office of President Jacob Zuma said family members visited Mandela at the hospital.

"It refocuses everybody on his legacy," Silver-Vallance, who lives in Britain, said Tuesday of Mandela's illness. Referring to the former leader, he said: "You think about all the contributions that a person makes in their life, but also beyond their life as an example to others."

The guardians of Robben Island, a somber site, concluded that the cluster balloon flight, while quirky, was consistent with the spirit of daring and altruism that Mandela personified in the struggle against apartheid.

"This is something that we can identify with," said Shoni Khangala, director of communications and marketing for the Robben Island Museum. He said it was important to celebrate that spirit "without necessarily shedding tears all the time."

The planned voyage, estimated to take about an hour, is a form of flight known as cluster-ballooning. The hobby is expensive and eccentric. As a spectacle, a spur to the imagination, it's up there in the clouds.

"There isn't a kid that hasn't wondered: 'How many of these do I need to make me fly?'" said Mike Howard, an airline pilot in Dubai and cluster-balloonist who is advising Silver-Vallance. "When you see someone doing it, it's one of those dreams you had as a child, and now you see it in reality."

Cluster-ballooning got a boost in in popular culture with the 2009 computer-animated movie "Up," featuring an elderly man who ties lots of balloons to his house and flies off with a young stowaway on board.

Pilots in two motorized paragliders will accompany Silver-Vallance, as will four boats, including one from the South African navy that will transport media and other guests.

He will only fly in gentle winds and stay low at 180 meters (600 feet), below the height of more conventional aircraft. He will carry radio equipment and a long rope that he can toss to his beach crew if he loses control while landing.

Silver-Vallance, 36, can climb in altitude by ejecting waterbags that serve as ballast, and reduce elevation by shooting out balloons with an air pistol, or stabbing them with scissors or a blade fixed to a bamboo stick.

He'll aim to fly sometime between this weekend and April 27, deemed the most cooperative time of the year for wind currents, and travel at least 9 kilometers (5.6 miles), which is the shortest distance between the island and the mainland.

Mandela described in a memoir how he and other comrades were transferred to Robben Island in the 1960s and subjected to hard labor and other tough conditions. Today, visitors tour the cramped cells, the exercise yard and the quarry where inmates toiled.

"Moving from one prison to another always requires a period of adjustment," Mandela wrote. "But journeying to Robben Island was like going to another country. Its isolation made it not simply another prison, but a world of its own, far removed from the one we had come from."

Silver-Vallance's escapade adds to the lore of an island that served as a prison under Dutch settlers in the 17th century. At that time, a jailed local leader escaped to the mainland. In 1819, a Xhosa chief who opposed colonial rule drowned after trying to escape.

Lepers also stayed on the island and one group built a boat to flee but authorities discovered and destroyed it, according to Khangala, the spokesman at the island museum.

Vuyo Lutseke, spokeswoman for the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital, said one-quarter of $110 million needed to build the hospital in Johannesburg has been raised and that organizers hope to start construction around Mandela's July 18 birthday.

"We're very optimistic, but we also understand that we need the larger global community to come on board and help us in raising this money," said Lutseke, who welcomed what she described as Silver-Vallance's "crazy" stunt. The balloonist is raising money through online donations, and the independent trust running the hospital project will decide how best to spend the funds.

Mandela, who last made a public appearance in 2010, was known for a lively sense of humor during his career.

"He seemed to be the kind of individual who was able to mix humor with the serious nature of everything that he was doing," Silver-Vallance said. "We all hope, if he sees this story, that it will bring a smile to his face."

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Robben Island Balloon Run: http://www.balloonrun.com/

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Mandela making progress in 7th day in the hospital

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa's government says Nelson Mandela "continues to make steady improvement" as he spends a 7th day in a hospital being treated for a recurring lung infection that developed into pneumonia.

Admirers around the world have sent prayers and good wishes to the 94-year-old who helped end white minority rule and avoided civil war by his insistence on reconciliation despite being jailed for 27 years.

A brief government statement said Mandela "continues to respond satisfactorily to treatment."

It said he has been visited by his family. Reporters saw his wife, Graca Machel, leave the hospital on Wednesday.

The government gave no indication when Mandela might leave the hospital. He contracted tuberculosis when he was jailed for 27 years by the apartheid government.

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SAfrica: Mandela responds positively to treatment

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa's presidency says 94-year-old Nelson Mandela is responding positively to hospital treatment for a recurring lung infection.

The office of President Jacob Zuma also said in a statement Thursday that the former president and anti-apartheid leader remains under observation.

Mandela was admitted late Wednesday to a hospital in Pretoria, the South African capital.

Mandela contracted tuberculosis during his 27-year imprisonment for fighting white racist rule in South Africa. He has repeatedly had lung problems.

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SAfrica: Mandela in hospital with lung infection

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa's first black president, has been hit by a lung infection again and is in a hospital, the presidency said Thursday.

Mandela, 94, has become increasingly frail in recent years and has been hospitalized several times in recent months, including earlier this month when he underwent what authorities said was a scheduled medical test. The Nobel laureate is a revered figure in South Africa, which has honored his legacy of reconciliation by naming buildings and other places after him and printing his image on national banknotes.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sad," said Obed Mokwana, a Johannesburg resident. "I just try to pray all the time. He must come very strong again."

The Nobel laureate was admitted to a hospital just before midnight Wednesday "due to the recurrence of his lung infection," the office of President Jacob Zuma said in a statement.

Mandela contracted tuberculosis during his 27-year imprisonment for fighting white racist rule in South Africa. He has repeatedly had lung problems.

"Doctors are attending to him, ensuring that he has the best possible expert medical treatment and comfort," the statement from the presidency said. It appealed "for understanding and privacy in order to allow space to the doctors to do their work."

Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj, referring to Mandela by his clan name "Madiba," said the trip to a hospital in the South African capital of Pretoria was not for previously scheduled treatment.

"No, this wasn't scheduled, as you will appreciate the doctors do work with a great sense of caution when they are treating Madiba and take into account his age," he said. "And so when they found that this lung infection had reoccurred they decided to have him immediately hospitalized so that he can receive the best treatment."

In December, Mandela spent three weeks in a hospital in Pretoria, where he was treated for a lung infection and had a procedure to remove gallstones.

Maharaj acknowledged there was cause for worry, but said the medical specialists treating Mandela were very competent.

"With Madiba and a person of his age there always has to be concern and therefore the doctors, I think we need to appreciate, will prefer to work on the side of caution rather than taking any risks," he said from the coastal city of Durban.

He said there had been a global outpouring of messages expressing concern for Mandela's health.

Zuma wished Mandela a speedy recovery.

"We appeal to the people of South Africa and the world to pray for our beloved Madiba and his family and to keep them in their thoughts. We have full confidence in the medical team and know that they will do everything possible to ensure recovery," the presidential statement quoted Zuma as saying.

Mandela spent a night in a hospital and was released on March 10 following a medical test. At that time, spokesman Maharaj said Mandela was "well."

In February 2012, Mandela spent a night in a hospital for minor diagnostic surgery to determine the cause of an abdominal complaint. In January 2011, he was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for what officials initially described as tests but what turned out to be an acute respiratory infection. He was discharged days later.

He also had surgery for an enlarged prostate gland in 1985.

Under South Africa's white-minority apartheid regime, Mandela served 27 years in prison, where he contracted tuberculosis, before being released in 1990. He later became the nation's first democratically elected president in 1994 under the banner of the African National Congress, helping to negotiate a relatively peaceful end to apartheid despite fears of much greater bloodshed. He served one five-year term as president before retiring.

Perceived successes during Mandela's tenure include the introduction of a constitution with robust protections for individual rights and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a panel that heard testimony about apartheid-era violations of human rights as a kind of national therapy session. South Africa still struggles with crime, economic inequality and other social ills.

Mandela last made a public appearance on a major stage when South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament.

He had spent more time in the rural village of Qunu in Eastern Cape province, where he grew up. He was visited there in August by Hillary Clinton, who was U.S. secretary of state at the time.

Doctors said in December that he should remain at his home in the Johannesburg neighborhood of Houghton for the time being to be close to medical facilities that can provide the care he needs.

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APTN Senior Producer Ed Brown contributed to this report from Durban, South Africa.

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Bodies exhumed in killings tied to Mandela ex-wife

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Forensic scientists on Tuesday exhumed two bodies believed to belong to young activists last seen 24 years ago at the home of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela as police said they have opened a new murder investigation.

The case reopens a dark chapter in the life of the then-wife of Nelson Mandela. Many South Africans still revere the 76-year-old as "the mother of the nation," but others have feared as a vengeful and heartless operator. She had "the blood of African children on her hands," her former friend Xoliswa Falati told South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

In the late 1990s, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission found that Madikizela-Mandela was responsible for the disappearances in November 1988 of 21-year-old Lolo Sono and his friend Sibuniso Tshabalala, 19. But nothing was done to pursue allegations she was directly involved in their killings, even though her chief bodyguard Jerry Richardson told the commission he and a colleague stabbed the young men to death on Madikizela-Mandela's orders.

Mortuary records indicate the two bodies that were unearthed on Tuesday had multiple stab wounds

In front of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Madikizela-Mandela denied all knowledge of the two and said allegations she was involved in six other killings were rubbish. Madikizela-Mandela could not be reached for comment.

Richardson was head of the Mandela United Football Club, a crowd of young men who acted as Madikizela-Mandela's bodyguards and also as vigilantes who, some charge, she used to get rid of enemies.

On Tuesday, the African National Congress party — which Madikizela-Mandela serves as a recently re-elected member of the National Executive Council — orchestrated the ceremony that brought more than 100 family members to watch the uncovering of the skeletal remains believed to belong to Sono and Tshabalala.

Most attendees responded only lukewarmly to traditional ANC slogans, causing one official to urge them to respond with more vigor. Another told them to "make sure everyone knows you are ANC families."

ANC officials tried to prevent family members, some of whom have accused Madikizela-Mandela of killing their sons, from talking to reporters.

John Sono, uncle of one of the missing men, insisted on speaking, saying "We are getting some relief because we know that we are closing the chapter of 'we don't know' and we are opening the chapter of 'here lies our son.'"

When a journalist asked if he wanted justice, Sono said, "That one is still very far, we still need to talk about it," before an ANC official shoved his hand in front of TV microphones saying "No, no he can't answer that one."

Piers Pigou, the senior investigator for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission who cross-examined Madikizela-Mandela during its hearings, told The Associated Press that "I think the standard of proof used by the Truth Commission basically established prima facie (enough evidence to prosecute) cases against Mrs. Mandela and members of the Mandela United Football Club, including in the disappearances of Sono and Tshabalala."

Pigou said he found it particularly distressing to know that the men's bodies were taken to the mortuary the day after they disappeared, and that police were unable to link them to the two missing men who were being desperately sought by their families.

The commission lambasted police investigations into the disappearances, causing some to wonder whether the incompetence was purposeful. Pigou said there was "a pattern of incredibly incompetent investigations" with an "enormous number of missing dockets."

"Does it add up to a conspiracy or not that investigations were not being pursued when they could be pursued?" he asked.

This time, the two new murder dockets have been opened by the Hawks, the police priority investigative unit, Capt. Paul Ramaloko told The Associated Press.

He said there had been no investigation since the original case was opened and 1988 and closed soon after. "It's too early to be saying if we have suspects or not," Ramaloko, the Hawks spokesman, said, but added they were asking anyone with information about what happened 24 years ago to come forward.

Asked if investigators would be questioning Madikizela-Mandela, he said "At this stage we don't have an affidavit or statement guiding us to that direction, but should it transpire at a later stage, we would obviously do the right thing ... Whoever the investigation identifies as the suspect in this case, we would obviously bring the person forth to answer some questions."

At the truth commission, Nicodemus Sono, father of one of the missing men, described how Madikizela-Mandela had come to his home with his son held at gunpoint and his face bruised from beatings, in November 1988. Sono said she had demanded photographs and documents, telling the father that his son was a spy for the apartheid police.

Sono had begged her to give him back his son. But he said she had driven away saying "the movement" would decide what to do with him.

Nomsa Tshabalala, mother of the other missing man, accused Madikizela-Mandela of killing her son when she gave testimony to the commission. "I would request Winnie to give Siboniso back to me. I want Siboniso or his bones and remains," she said. "She knows, deep inside of her, she knows . I'd like to find out as the where my son has been buried."

On Tuesday, she stood with a stern face at the grave site at Avalon Cemetery as scientists wielding miniature trowels and paint brushes delicately uncovered a skeleton caked in red clay.

Madeleine Fullard, head of the missing persons department of the National Prosecuting Authority, cautioned the families that DNA tests must be done and it could be months before a definitive identification is made. Family members already have submitted DNA samples.

Fullard said her team stumbled on mortuary records a year ago that led to Tuesday's exhumation. An anthropologist in search of other records came across a document indicating the bodies of two young men with multiple stab wounds had been found lying in a field the day after the young men had disappeared. Those bodies had been buried in a paupers' grave with others at Avalon.

The scientists then searched through "hundreds, hundreds and more hundreds" of dusty archived dockets before they found the photographs of the bodies found in the field. All bodies brought to mortuaries are routinely photographed.

When they took the photos to the families and the young men were identified, everyone cried, including the scientists, Fullard said.

In 1991, Madikizela-Mandela was sentenced to six years' jail for kidnapping and assault in the death of 14-year-old James Seipei "Stompie" Moeketsi, who also had last been seen at her home and who was beaten to death. She appealed, the assault conviction was overturned and the sentence reduced to a suspended jail term.

Madikizela-Mandela could not immediately be reached for comment. She had been openly contemptuous of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission where she made an appearance 15 years ago. She has said that the commission headed by Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu had wrongfully sacrificed justice for reconciliation. She said Tutu never once asked her about all the years of torture, assault, death threats, banishment and 18 months of solitary confinement that she suffered while her husband was imprisoned and she became a leading symbol of the struggle in South Africa.

Tutu had begged her for the truth. "If you are able to bring yourself to say something went wrong, I beg you, I beg you, I beg you," he said. "You are a great person and you don't know how your greatness would be enhanced if you were to say: 'Sorry, things went wrong. Forgive me.'"

The commission noted her contempt "not only for the commission but for the notion of accountability." She had been incensed that the commission treated victims and perpetrators of apartheid equally.

"They have a nerve to suggest that freedom fighters who fought for freedom must account for their actions while the perpetrators of the worst atrocities are walking the streets laughing at the efforts of our struggle," she said at the time.

The final report said: "The commission finds that those who opposed Mrs. Madikizela-Mandela and the Mandela United Football Club, or dissented from them, were branded as informers, and killed. ... The commission finds further that Mrs. Madikizela-Mandela herself was responsible for committing such gross violations of human rights."

Madikizela-Mandela was separated from Mandela in 1992, two years after he was released from 27 years of incarceration. Their divorce was finalized in 1996. In 1994 he was elected president of South Africa, with the all-race vote marking the final blow to apartheid, the cruel system of white rule.

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South Africa: Mandela discharged from hospital

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Nelson Mandela left a hospital after "successful" medical tests and returned to his home in Johannesburg on Sunday, the spokesman for South Africa's president said.

The former president and anti-apartheid leader was admitted to a hospital in Pretoria, the capital, on Saturday.

"The doctors have completed the tests," presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said in a statement. "He is well and as before, his health remains under the management of the medical team."

Maharaj appealed to the public and media to respect the privacy of 94-year-old Mandela and his family.

The African National Congress, South Africa's ruling party, had earlier released a statement saying it believed Mandela was in "capable and competent hands."

Mandela, who has become increasingly frail in recent years, was hospitalized for nearly three weeks in December. At that time, he was treated for a lung infection and had a surgical procedure to remove gallstones.

Under South Africa's white-minority apartheid regime, Mandela spent 27 years in prison before he was released in 1990. He became the nation's first democratically elected president in 1994 under the banner of the African National Congress. He served one five-year term before retiring.

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Relief in South Africa as Mandela leaves hospital

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The building that houses South Africa's highest court, made partly with bricks from an apartheid-era prison, symbolizes what Nelson Mandela hoped his country would become, a haven of tolerance wiser for the nation's past anguish.

Its mosaics, slanting columns, and natural light are meant to welcome people to the Constitutional Court, guardian of a charter devoted to human rights and clean governance. Nearby, a former jail complex where Nelson Mandela was held echoes a time when whites often resorted to violence to impose their rule over the black majority.

It is a neat fusion of history and aspiration. In reality the country once dubbed the "Rainbow Nation" is drifting between poles, cursed by crime and poverty, blessed with talent and resources, a trail-blazer of reconciliation that elected Mandela as its first black president in 1994 elections but still can't find harmony.

The anti-apartheid leader and Nobel laureate returned to his Johannesburg home on Sunday after spending a night in a hospital for what presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said was a "successful" medical exam. Maharaj said Mandela was "well."

The 94-year-old, however, has grown increasingly frail over the years. In December, he spent three weeks in a hospital, where he was treated for a lung infection and had a procedure to remove gallstones.

The revered leader's brief hospitalization comes at a time when South Africa is struggling to live up to the promise that Mandela has come to symbolize.

"Although he's old, he's a real father to South Africa," said Thembeni Sebego, a resident of the Soweto township in Johannesburg. "We need him very, very, very much. But what can we do? If God calls him, it's time, because he's old now, he's old."

Though he withdrew from public life years ago, Mandela is seen by many compatriots as a hero, a symbol of hope, even a psychological refuge from the social ills and uneven leadership that prevail in South Africa.

The country of 50 million people has much warmth of character. But violence brews in its soul, partly fueled by one of the world's widest gulfs between rich and poor. All walks of life know what it is to be uneasy and alert to surroundings, even if the rates of some violent crimes have fallen.

"You can't walk around at night, there is the fear of rape everywhere," said Mashudu Mfomande, campaign coordinator for Amnesty International in South Africa. "Even in your own home, you don't think you are safe because we have cases of people coming into other people's houses, and have raped t hem. So as a woman in South Africa, it is not a good environment to be in."

A series of shocking events has intensified handwringing over the direction of society.

On Aug. 16, the shooting deaths of 34 striking miners by police at the Marikana platinum mine was a flashback for some who recalled state killings under apartheid. An official inquiry is underway.

On Feb. 2, a 17-year-old was gang-raped and mutilated before she died. On Feb. 14, Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee athlete who was an inspirational figure around the world, was arrested on charges that he murdered his girlfriend in Pretoria. On Feb. 26, a Mozambican taxi driver was dragged from a South African police vehicle and later died in a police cell.

Last week, President Jacob Zuma sought to counter the image of South Africa as a place in turmoil, saying police were making inroads.

"We also dare not portray our beautiful country as an inherently violent place to live in," he said. "South Africa is a stable, peaceful country. Like all countries, there are elements that conduct themselves in a shocking and unacceptable manner."

Some South African media thought Zuma was in denial. "Are you kidding, JZ?" scoffed a headline in The Citizen newspaper.

Mandela's legacy is secure even though he did not provide solutions to poverty and inequality during his five-year presidency. His sacrifice as a prisoner under apartheid for 27 years, and his generosity of spirit in the tense transition to democracy won international acclaim.

"He means a lot because he brought a lot of changes, a lot of changes here in South Africa and not only in South Africa, but the whole world," said Elvis Vusi, a Soweto resident. "So we need all the leaders, if they can just follow in his footsteps so that each and everybody must live in a peaceful country."

Despite insecurity, South Africa reported 7.5 million tourist arrivals between January and October last year, a 10.4 increase over the same period in 2011, with many coming from Europe. Despite labor strife and credit rating downgrades, resource-rich South Africa will host Brazil, Russia, India and China at the "BRICS" summit this month.

But what is to blame for the persistent problems of a country that has proven it can shine, notably in its triumphant staging of the World Cup soccer tournament in 2010?

One view is that apartheid, which enforced inequality along racial lines, had a role in undercutting the society after it. Endowed with equal rights under the law, many South Africans expected better services and opportunities.

According to Pitika Ntuli, a South African poet and sculptor, the thinking among many South Africans was: "'I used to be insulted, I'm no longer called those things. Now the other things will come.'"

For many, that didn't happen. Expectations faded, anger mounted.

Some commentators say South Africa's new leaders, including Mandela, should have pushed harder to restructure an economy dominated by whites; opponents of that view say it would have alienated industries and set the country on a downward path similar to that of Zimbabwe after independence.

The African National Congress, the liberation party that has dominated since the end of apartheid, has also struggled to deliver on promises. It is a frontrunner ahead of 2014 elections, but corruption scandals and other missteps have hurt democracy's evolution.

"What has occurred since 1994 is the steady development of a fusion between party and state, accompanied by a refusal fully to accept the legitimacy of opposition parties," David Welsh and Paul Hoffman wrote in a commentary on the website of the Institute for Accountability in Southern Africa, a non-profit group.

On Sunday, the Nelson Mandela Center of Memory, which promotes the former president's ideas, tweeted something he once said: "I would venture to say that there is something inherently good in all human beings."

Mandela was also a realist and recognized the challenges that South Africa would face. The rest of his line goes:

"... deriving from, among other things, the attribute of social consciousness that we all possess. And, yes, there is also something inherently bad in all of us, flesh and blood as we are, with the attendant desire to perpetuate and pamper the self."

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AP Senior Producer Ed Brown contributed to this report.

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Weinstein Co. acquires "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The Weinstein Company has acquired distribution rights to "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" in North America, Australia and New Zealand, the studio said Friday.

The biopic of Nelson Mandela's life draws on the anti-apartheid leader's autobiography of the same name and is directed by Justin Chadwick ("The Other Boleyn Girl") and produced by Anant Singh. William Nicholson ("Gladiator") wrote the script.

Shot in South Africa, the film stars Idris Elba ("The Wire") in the title role and Naomie Harris as his wife Winnie.

"I am extremely passionate about 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,'" TWC Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein said in statement. "Anant Singh first gave the book to me in 1994, when the first edition came out. We have been talking about making this film since 1999. There have been a number of stop and goes, but sometimes things work out for a reason, and Anant Singh has done a masterful job in producing this epic story of our times. Through Anant and Bob De Niro, I met Nelson Mandela, and it was one of the best experiences of my life."

The deal was negotiated in London by David Glasser and Michal Steinberg for TWC and Anant Singh and Alan Grodin of Weintraub Tobin for Distant Horizon. Pathe has acquired the UK and French rights and is handling international sales.

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