Nelson Mandela’s graduation party will definitely take place, according to the SA Prisons Service, and it's up to the ANC leader and his guests to decide when it's most convenient. According to the Prisons Service in Pretoria, "After consultation with the principal of the University of South Africa, approval had been granted in principle" for Mandela to hold a small private gathering of close friends. The date is unknown but expected to be in August. Speculation still surrounds the world's best-known prisoner's guest list. 

Weekly Mail this week talked to one of Mandela's prospective guests - Johannesburg businessman Yusuf Surtee is said to have received an invitation to the Mandela graduation party. He told the Weekly Mail he did not know the date on which the party would take place. Meanwhile Stella Sigcau, former Transkei prime minister now unseated by the military government, visited Mandela in his Victor Verster Prison home on Friday last week. She told Weekly Mail that during her five-hour visit she had "gained the impression that Mandela was concerned about chieftainship" and that she was told the ANC was not automatically opposed to chiefs. 

Next week Mandela will be visited by influential Transkei chiefs including Pat Holomisa, brother of General Bantu Holomisa, leader of the "homeland's" military government, Zanengqele Mtirara, acting chief of all Thembuland, and Zanengqele Dalasile, also a prominent traditional leader.

This article originally appeared in the Weekly Mail.