Nelson Mandela makes first public appearance during World Cup

Reporting from Johannesburg, South Africa -- A week into the country’s monthlong World Cup celebration Nelson Mandela, the man considered the father of the new South Africa, made his first public appearance Thursday by attending the funeral of his 13-year-old great-granddaughter. And though Mandela still hasn’t spoken publicly, his grandson Mandla Mandela said the 91-year-old former president is following the tournament and believes it can help promote peace both in the country and on the continent.

“He is fully in support of the 2010 World Cup,” said Mandla Mandela, a member of the South African parliament, adding that if his grandfather had a goal for the tournament it would be “to unite our people under a peaceful umbrella.

“Africa has been ridden by conflict,” he said. “So this event should enable Africans first to realize that we are able to [host] a world-class event. And in the ability to do so, we should assert ourselves to participate fully in the global community.”

Nelson Mandela was expected to attend the opening ceremonies as well as the World Cup’s first game between Mexico and South Africa. But his great-granddaughter Zenani Mandela was killed in an auto accident early on the morning of the opener.

“The passing of his great-granddaughter has been a tragic blow to the family. And we’ve taken time to mourn her passing,” said Mandla, who also attended the funeral before appearing at a charity event to raise money for projects in the rural village his family comes from.

“My grandfather, when we were talking about the opening of the World Cup, he was always saying to us, ‘You know I played a crucial role in securing this World Cup.’ And he insisted to the family members that [he] must be present,” Mandla said. “We were really sympathetic to his cause. He wished to be there.

“With the loss of his great-granddaughter, he was there in spirit.”

Security issues

For the second time in less than a week, police used rubber bullets to break up a demonstration involving hundreds of security stewards striking because of low pay for their World Cup duties. Seven people were arrested during the clash in Cape Town, officials said.

Police used nonlethal measures to break up a similar rally Sunday in Durban and have reassigned about 4,000 officers to take responsibility for security at five of the 10 World Cup stadiums after the regular staff walked off the job.

The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union, which represents many security workers, said it has asked the Labor Department to investigate whether laws were broken during the recruitment of the security stewards. According to the union, most security workers hired for the World Cup did not have written contracts, were paid less than promised, received inadequate training and were forced to work in substandard conditions.

Seeing red

When Nigeria midfielder Sani Kaita was sent off for giving Greece’s Vassilis Torosidis a cleats-first kick in the thigh in the first half of Thursday’s game, he became the sixth player to get a red card in this World Cup — and his team became the sixth team that failed to win after a player received a red card.

Uruguay’s Nicolas Lodeiro, Algeria’s Abdelkader Ghezzal, Serbia’s Aleksandar Lukovic, Australia’s Tim Cahill and South Africa’s Itumeleng Khune are the other five.

kevin.baxter@latimes.com

grahame.jones@latimes.com

Times wire services contributed to this report.