By Palesa Matlala
- Mandla Mandela says the Gaza aid trip was funded entirely by donations after claims surfaced that taxpayers paid for activists’ deportation from Israel.
- Six South Africans, including Mandela, were detained by Israeli forces while trying to deliver food and medicine to Gaza last week.
Chief Mandla Mandela has denied claims that taxpayers funded the Gaza aid mission that ended with six South Africans detained by the Israeli military.
Politician Renaldo Gouws had posted on X that South African taxpayers had paid for the activists’ deportation flights after their arrest by Israeli forces.
Mandela rejected the claim during a press briefing at OR Tambo International Airport on Monday. “All the money and resources used for this mission were donated,” he said. “We did not use taxpayers’ money.”
The six activists – Mandela, Zukiswa Wanner, Reaaz Moolla, Zaheera Soomar, Fatima Hendricks and Carrie Shelver – were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a group of 8,000 international volunteers travelling to deliver food, medicine and other aid to Gaza.
They were detained in international waters before reaching Gaza and released after several days in Israeli custody.
Mandela said the group had been blocked by Egyptian authorities and denied passage to Gaza through the Rafah border.
Activist Fatima Hendricks, who was also on the trip, said their treatment in detention was harsh. “We were humiliated for being humanitarians,” she said. “But our suffering is nothing compared to what people in Gaza face daily.”
The activists say they plan to return to Gaza in 2026 to complete their mission.
To date, more than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, including 20,000 children.
Pictured above: Chief Mandla Mandela and fellow activists at OR Tambo International Airport after returning from Israeli detention.
Image source: Palesa Matlala
