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Culture & Religion

Damning Endorsement

Nelson Mandela ‘has never read’ a biography by the president of Congo-Brazzaville which features a ‘faked’ glowing endorsement from him.
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“In the crowded field of political biography, it can be hard for a novice author to stand out. But not Denis Sassou-Nguesso, the president of Congo-Brazzaville, who has certainly managed to make a splash. In his new tome he boasts, in large type on the cover, that it contains a foreword written by Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president. The foreword praises Sassou-Nguesso as “one of our great African leaders” which, as endorsements go, beats the Booker and Nobel prizes rolled into one,” writes The Guardian. But: “Mandela has issued a statement saying he did not write the foreword. Nor has he read the book. He plans to take legal action.”

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