Nelson Mandela in ‘vegetative state’ as family feud grows

Doctors treating Nelson Mandela said he was in a “permanent vegetative state” and advised his family to turn off his life support machine, according to court documents.

“He is in a permanent vegetative state and is assisted in breathing by a life support machine,” said a legal filing, dated June 26, related to a family dispute over reburying the remains of three of Mandela’s children.

The “Certificate of Urgency” document was filed by a lawyer representing Mandela family members who had successfully sought a court order to return the disputed children’s remains to the revered South African leader’s childhood home, after a grandson had them moved to his own village.