Mandla Mandela in more hot water

FRESH on the heels of a bigamy case against him, Chief Mandla Mandela's woes are set to intensify.

His first wife, Tando Nodayimane-Mandela, has instructed lawyers to file a contempt-of-court charge against him for proceeding with his latest wedding to Mbalenhle Makhathini over the festive season despite a court order barring him from doing so.

Nodayimane-Mandela's lawyer, Wesley Hayes, will also be filing an application in the Mthatha High Court next Monday to have Mandla's two-week-old marriage to Makhathini, from KwaZulu-Natal, annulled.

This comes after ANC Eastern Cape spokesman Mlibo Qoboshiyane this week announced that the party's provincial working committee planned to meet the Mandela family after today's ANC centenary celebrations to discuss the chief's conduct.

This includes Mandela's marital woes, an additional case of cattle theft against him and allegations of land-grabbing by families in Mvezo, former president Nelson Mandela's birth village.

Repeated attempts to obtain comment from Mandla were unsuccessful.

Yesterday, Nodayimane-Mandela declined to comment, referring all questions to her lawyer.

Two weeks ago, the 31-year-old opened a criminal charge of bigamy against Mandla, 37, and his latest wife, as well as one against his French-speaking second wife, Anais Grimaud, at the Bityi police station.

Last year, Nodayimane-Mandela had Mandla's marriage to Grimaud, with whom he has a child, annulled.

On Christmas day, Mandla married Makhathini in a private ceremony at the Mvezo royal palace, defying a court order preventing the marriage while he was still legally married to Nodayimane-Mandela. A divorce action is pending.

The Customary Marriages Act of 1998 forbids a spouse to enter into more than one legal union while still married. The act also stops couples from entering into civil and customary marriages simultaneously.

Mandla and Nodayimane-Mandela were married in community of property in June 2004.