This Day in History: July 13, 1969
Additional Date: July 13, 1969
Thembekile “Thembi” Mandela, the eldest son of Nelson Mandela and Evelyn Mase was killed in a car accident while his father was serving life sentence on Robben Island. Mandela, who always played a brother figure for many of his inmates was filled with anguish at not being allowed by the authorities to attend Thembi’s funeral or to have access to details about the fatal crash. Thembi died when three cars collided on the fog-bound Touws River road, leaving four people dead and another four injured.