The 83-year-old Ayob passed away in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Nelson Mandela’s lawyer, Ismail Ayob, has died at the age of 83.
Ayob passed away at his Houghton home in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Attorney
He had served as the personal lawyer for Madiba and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
He was the Mandelas’ attorney for over a decade, including the time when the former statesman was imprisoned on Robben Island.
Ayob was also Madikizela-Mandela’s lawyer when she stood trial over the Stompie Seipei kidnapping.
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Spat
Madiba and Ayob had a public and bitter spat in the mid-2000s, primarily over the unauthorised commercialisation of Mandela’s artwork and missing funds from a family trust
Ayob fell out with Madiba after making payments to the statesman’s children and grandchildren through the Nelson Mandela Trust.
The public falling out marked the end of a long professional and personal relationship.
Ayob had been Mandela’s trusted lawyer for over 20 years, visiting him in prison and acting as a vital conduit for messages to the ANC during the apartheid days.
Funeral
Ayob’s funeral will take place on Wednesday at 1pm in accordance with Muslim burial rites.
He will be laid to rest at the Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg.
Madiba bodyguard
In May, Mandela’s bodyguard and anti-gang unit boss Major-General Andre Lincoln died at the age of 63.
Lincoln was remembered for his tenacity in fighting crime.
As a committed combatant in uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) during the liberation struggle, Lincoln operated as an intelligence officer working to dismantle apartheid’s machinery of oppression.
Saving Madiba’s life
Lincoln was appointed by Nelson Mandela to head the Presidential Investigation Task Unit, a key agency formed to fight organised crime and corruption.
It was during this period that Lincoln’s valour saved the life of Mandela, foiling an assassination attempt.
Lincoln was appointed head of the anti-gang unit in 2018.
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