Mvezo, South Africa  - When Mandla Mandela arrived in the home village of his grandfather Nelson 18 months ago to take up the position of "nkosi" (traditional leader), the locals just laughed - and wagered he'd be gone by the next day.

Instead he's now a candidate for the country's national parliament, following in his famous grandfather's illustrious footsteps.

Draped in a lion skin, Mandla - a 35-year-old politics graduate - had been solemnly installed as chief of the Tembu clan at Mvezo, Mandela's homestead in the Eastern Cape, six months beforehand.