Despite reports last week that his health was improving, it appears increasing likely that former South African president Nelson Mandela is nearing death. The civil rights leader has been battling a severe lung infection since March. The 94-year-old Mandela is currently in critical condition at a hospital in Pretoria, South Africa.

As Mandela lies on his deathbed, turmoil is beginning to engulf his family. According to an Associated Press report, Mandela’s family is now engaged in a court battle over where the former president should be buried. Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela has reportedly reburied three of Nelson Mandela’s children in Mvezo villiage. Makaziwe Mandela, Nelson’s eldest daughter, is leading a group of family members to petition a South African court to order the return of the reburied family members.

Mvezo is Nelson Mandela’s birthplace, and Mandla is reportedly preparing to found a a Mandela shrine in the village. The bodies were taken from Qunu, where the Mandelas have a family plot. It is expected that Nelson Mandela will be buried in Qunu.

(Image courtesy South Africa The Good News/Wikimedia Commons)

(via Associated Press)