Michelle Obama and daughters met with Nelson Mandela at his home South African President Jacob Zuma has refused to meet Michelle Obama during her five-day tour of Africa saying that he is too busy. The polygamist leader snubbed the First Lady by sending his prisons minister to greet her at the airport and one of his three wives to meet her today.
The brush off came as Mrs Obama granted a rare audience with Nelson Mandela on the opening day of her visit to Africa - her first major solo tour without her husband.
The First Lady, accompanied by her mother and two daughters, visited the 92-year-old former president and anti-apartheid leader, at his home in Johannesburg.
Current President Jacob Zuma was out of the country as Mrs Obama arrived on Monday night, but when he returned aides said he was \'not available\' to meet her.
Clayson Monyela, spokesman for South Africa’s foreign office, said that there was no onus on Mr Zuma to meet Mrs Obama since she is not a head of state.
\'It’s totally wrong to suggest this is a snub,\' he told the Daily Telegraph. \'If Mr Zuma or the International Relations minister were in the country they would have met her.
\'We recognise this is a historic visit and that’s why she has been welcomed by senior cabinet ministers.\'
Corrective Services Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula met Mrs Obama on her arrival in Pretoria on Monday, and one of his three wives, Nompumelelo Ntuli-Zuma, met her for about half an hour this morning.
Mrs Ntuli-Zuma is one of the President\'s three wives. There were two further wives who are no longer with him. He divorced Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in 1998. Kate Mantsho Zuma killed herself in 2000, after describing her marriage to him as \'24 years of hell\'.
Mr Zuma is said to have more than ten children, and possibly as many as 19.
The White House said in a brief statement after the meeting that the two women talked about Mrs Obama\'s trip and her schedule in South Africa.
The supposed snub comes as relations are tense between South Africa and the U.S.
Last week Mr Zuma gave a strong rebuff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton\'s call for African leaders to help remove Colonel Gaddafi.
He said: \'We strongly believe that the [UN Security Council] resolution is being abused for regime change, political assassinations and foreign military occupation.\'
South African officials said that Mrs Obama had rejected the offer of a meeting at 9am on Wednesday because she was making a speech in Soweto.
Zizi Kodwa, Mr Zuma’s spokesman, said the President\'s diary was full and could not be changed.
\'Even when the President is in South Africa, he is not on holiday and cannot meet anybody at any time,\' he told the Daily Telegraph.
\'Why is he not meeting the head of state of an African country who is coming to South Africa? Because he has a schedule.\'
Earlier today the Obama family met with Nelson Mandela. Mrs Obama was on a visit to the offices of Mandela\'s foundation when he sent word that he wanted to meet them.
A healthy-looking Nelson Mandela spent about 20 minutes meeting with Mrs Obama and her daughters Malia, 12 and Sasha, 10.
A photo showed the 92-year-old sitting on a couch next to Mrs Obama, pen in hand to sign an advance copy of his new book, \'Nelson Mandela By Himself: The Authorised Quotations Book\'.
Mr Mandela was wearing one of his trademark shirts, richly patterned and buttoned at the neck.
Mrs Obama wore a silk shantung coral suit by Narcisso Rodriguez with turquoise earrings by Nava Zahavi.
The party had been viewing Mandela\'s personal items including prison desk calendars and notebooks when they were invited to come to his home.
It was Mrs Obama\'s first meeting with the prisoner-turned-president.
Mandela spent 27 years in prison for his role in the anti-apartheid movement. After his release, he went on to become the country\'s first black elected president.
Mandela, who stepped down in 1999 after serving one term as president, is rarely seen in public anymore. At age 92, he is in fragile health and was briefly hospitalised in January with an acute respiratory infection. But he apparently felt well enough Tuesday to invite the Obama family to visit.
Mrs Obama\'s niece and nephew, who are travelling with her, were also invited to meet Mr Mandela.
Before the visit the White House had only announced a meeting with Graca Machel, wife of the former South African president.
It is thought that aides were waiting to see if the frail anti-apartheid leader was well enough to see them.
Mrs Obama is traveling without President Barack Obama, who met Mandela on a previous visit to Africa when he was a U.S. senator.
Mr Obama and  Mr Mandela have spoken by telephone several times since Mr Obama took office, most recently last June, the White House said.
Mr Obama also wrote a foreword for Mandela\'s book, \'Conversations with Myself\'.
Mrs Obama will visit Nobel Peace Prizewinner Desmond Tutu in Cape Town before heading to Botswana where the family will go on safari.
There she will also meet with President Ian Khama and with women leaders. She will also see a nature reserve.
Her trip comes as the United States starts gearing up for the 2012 presidential election, when her husband, President Barack Obama, hopes to hold on to the White House.
Pictures of Mrs Obama in Africa could appear in the campaign to appeal to black voters, a critical voting bloc for Obama\'s Democrats.
White House officials said her visit would advance her husband\'s foreign policy goals.
\'This trip by the first lady is very directly connected to the president\'s agenda in Africa and the Obama administration\'s foreign policy in Africa,\' said Ben Rhodes, President Obama\'s deputy national security adviser.
\'It\'s no coincidence that she would be visiting countries that have embraced democracy, [and] in many respects, have shown that not only does their democracy deliver for its citizens, but it can provide a positive example for the neighborhood that these countries are in as well.\'
The First Lady\'s previous official solo sojourn abroad was to Mexico.
From / Daily Mail .