Anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla Mandela, was denied entry into the United Kingdom over his support for Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Mandela was not allowed to travel to the U.K. earlier this month to address pro-Palestinian gatherings in Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow after he was told that he would need a visa to enter. Mandela has a South African government passport that would normally allow him to enter the U.K. without a visa.
This week, the U.K. government told Mandela in a letter dated October 21 that his visa application was denied because of his “unacceptable behavior” relating to the Israeli-Palestine conflict.
Mandela told The Associated Press (AP) that he got the letter on Thursday.
Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela (center) with Hamas official Basem Naim (center right) during a march to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the death of former South African president Nelson Mandela in Pretoria, South Africa…
Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela (center) with Hamas official Basem Naim (center right) during a march to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the death of former South African president Nelson Mandela in Pretoria, South Africa on December 5, 2023. Mandla Mandela was denied entry into the United Kingdom over his support for Palestinian militant group Hamas.
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What Did the U.K. Government Say?
In its letter to Mandela, the U.K. Home Office said, “Your presence in the U.K. has been assessed as not conducive for the public good on the grounds that you have engaged in unacceptable behavior.”
“You have made multiple statements which explicitly support Hamas and their terrorist violence, including glorifying the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and their recently deceased leader Ismail Haniyeh.” the letter, which was seen by the AP, said.
The letter cited several Instagram posts from Mandela in which he voiced his support for Hamas and the Palestinians. One post showed him with Haniyeh, who was killed in Iran by an airstrike in July.
It also mentions that Mandela went to Haniyeh’s funeral in August after meeting him twice in January and April, and he posted a photo of himself with a top Hamas leader, Khaled Meshaal.
“As such, your presence in the U.K. is considered to pose a threat to U.K. society as it would highly likely cause tensions amongst U.K. Jewish communities. It is in the interests of the community to refuse your visa to protect public safety and prevent disorder or crime in the U.K.,” the letter said.
The U.K. Home Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment by the AP.
What Has Mandela Said?
Mandela said the U.K. denying him a visa would not deter him from continuing to express his support for the Palestinians.
“We can never be silenced and we will never let the refusal of a visa prevent us for standing for justice, peace and equality. We will continue to raise our voice against the unjust occupation, genocide and ethnic cleansing of Gaza and all of Occupied Palestine sponsored by the U.K. and its ilk,” he said.
Mandela said the visa refusal was an attempt to restrict his movement and freedom of expression, comparing it to his grandfather’s experience during the anti-apartheid struggle.
Pro-Palestinian organizations such as the Desmond Tutu Foundation in South Africa and the U.K.-based Sheffield Palestine Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid have criticized the U.K. government for its visa refusal.
It’s been a little over a year since Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The attack killed roughly 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. Around 100 hostages remain in captivity, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel began its military campaign in Gaza following the October 7 attack, which has killed over 42,000 Palestinians so far, according to local health officials who don’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but say more than half of those dead are women and children.
Who Is Nelson Mandela?
Mandela spent 27 years in prison for his role in the opposition movement against apartheid, a system of racial segregation in South Africa. Apartheid started in the late 1940s and ended in the early 1990s.
After being released from prison, Mandela became South Africa’s first democratically elected president and first Black president in 1994. He served for one term before stepping down in 1999.
In 2007, Mandla Mandela became head of the Mvezo Traditional Council, a title traditionally held by a member of the Mandela family. Mvezo is a village in the Eastern Cape of South Africa where Nelson Mandela was born.
Nelson Mandela died at his Johannesburg home in 2013.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.