Grandson denies selling TV rights to Mandela's funeral

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Mandla Mandela, 34, was forced to speak out after a relative accused him of scheming to arrange a deal with South African state broadcaster SABC.

A family source, quoted in a South African newspaper, said: "We are all shocked and disgusted by Mandla's action. How can he sell rights to his grandfather's funeral while he is still alive?

"We are not sure how much he was paid, but our source at the SABC says he made more than three million rand from this deal."

Mr Mandela will turn 91 next month and is increasingly in poor health. The funeral of the former president who led the fight against apartheid will be a major news event.

Mandla, son of Nelson's late son Makgatho, is said to have attempted to negotiate a deal to grant the network exclusive rights to syndicate the state event around the world.

Mandla, who became an ANC member of parliament in April, said: "I have no deals with the SABC. It's shocking news. We will discuss it with the family."

South Africa's newspaper The Sunday World said it stood by its story "100 per cent".

The allegation against Mandla, who prefers to be known as Zwelivelile, Xhosa for "The Nation has Appeared", is the latest controversy to hit the rising politician.

In February he was accused of manipulating his grandfather into a public appearance to help his election campaign despite the veteran being so frail he was unable to speak.

Last month relatives also claimed Mandla wanted to evict a cousin from her home near Johannesburg to turn it into a tourist attraction because of the Mandela connections.