Madiba: advocate's hearing tomorrow

TOMORROW is D-day for Port Elizabeth advocate David Smith, who will finally face up to allegations that he exaggerated Nelson Mandela's poor state of health to bolster a court application.

But just how far off the mark Smith was in saying Madiba was in a permanent vegetative state is up in the air, as the beloved statesman died just six months later.

The application revolved around the exhumation of the graves of Mandela's deceased children and was heard as a matter of urgency because of Smith's submissions.

Although a charge sheet has been drawn up and advocates from Grahamstown will prosecute Smith, the bar council has remained tight-lipped over where the hearing will take place.

Numerous attempts to establish the venue for tomorrow's hearing have been dodged by senior members of the bar. The Herald was, however, told by an independent source that proceedings would take place at Club Chambers in Bird Street, Central, at 9am tomorrow.

Smith, who will be represented by Advocate Dup de Bruyn SC,has always maintained he will be vindicated. - Kathryn Kimberley