Desmond Tutu Snubbed: Not Invited to Mandela Funeral

ABCNews

Another snag hit South Africa's long goodbye to anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela on Saturday when his longtime ally Desmond Tutu said he had not been accredited as a clergyman at the funeral by the government so would not attend.

Mac Maharaj, a spokesman for South African president Jacob Zuma, insisted that Tutu is on the guest list and that he hopes a solution will be found so Tutu is present. He said he had verified that Tutu had been invited.

The 82-year-old retired Anglican archbishop of Cape Town indicated he felt he had been snubbed by the current government, with which he has clashed several times in the past.

"Much as I would have loved to attend the service to say a final farewell to someone I loved and treasured, it would have been disrespectful to Tata (Mandela) to gatecrash what was billed as a private family funeral," Tutu said in a statement. "Had I or my office been informed that I would be welcome there is no way on earth that I would have missed it."

It was the latest problem to hit the 10-day mourning period for Mandela, the former president who died on Dec. 5 at age 95. The public memorial ceremony for Mandela on Tuesday at a Soweto stadium started late, had problems with loudspeakers and featured a signing interpreter for the deaf who made incomprehensible gestures, is a self-described schizophrenic and reportedly once faced charges of murder and other serious crimes.