Mandela's 'love child' not allowed to see him

The 65-year-old woman, from Soshanguve North, has tried to meet the icon before.

Get well soon: Well-wishers holding a portrait of former South African President Nelson Mandela dance outside the Medi Clinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria. Pic/AFP

She has been trying for several years, including making trips to Qunu, Eastern Cape, to meet him.

It was reported in 2011 that Mothoa's mother's parents had forced her to go into hiding after realising she had a child by Mandela.

Her mother's family were allegedly paralysed by fear at the thought of being associated with Mandela, who had become a thorn in the side of the apartheid regime.

"I wanted to use the opportunity to pray for him and also to meet him. I knew it was going to be impossible because the Mandela family are rejecting me, but I had to try," Mothoa said. She said security guards had told her that nobody was allowed to enter the hospital premises.

Mothoa said the guards at the gate had told her: "We can see you look like him, but there is nothing we can do. We have been instructed not to let anyone into the hospital premises except the family." u00a0