Mandela grandson says he will join Gaza aid boat

Mandla Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela, prepares to board a flight to Tunisia to join the Global Sumud Flotilla aiming to deliver humanitarian supplies to Gaza, at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, Sept. 3, 2025. (Reuters)
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  • “As Africans, we know very well what it means to live under occupation, under oppression,” Mandela said
  • The Maghreb Sumud Flotilla will set sail on Sunday

TUNIS : A grandson of South Africa’s anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela said Friday he would join pro-Palestinian activists seeking to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza with an aid boat from Tunisia.
“We particularly chose, as the South African delegation, to join the Global Sumud Flotilla here in Tunisia from an African point to say: Africa is part of this struggle,” Mandla Mandela told journalists in Tunis.
“As Africans, we know very well what it means to live under occupation, under oppression,” he said.
The Maghreb Sumud Flotilla will set sail on Sunday, organizers say, aiming to join other Gaza-bound boats that have already left from Spain and Italy.
Initially scheduled for last Thursday, it was postponed due to bad weather, and organizers have yet to confirm the place and time of departure.
Organizers have said about 100 activists have registered to join the flotilla from Tunis.