Nelson Mandela’s grandson has appeared in court charged with raping a 15-year-old girl at a bar, in the latest scandal to hit the family of the anti-apartheid leader

Mbuso Mandela, 24, remains in police custody and will appear at the Johannesburg magistrates court for a bail hearing. Police insist that he will not be treated differently from any other suspect. The girl was followed to a toilet where she was raped in a cubicle on the night of August 7, 2015. Mbuso was arrested after the victim, who is receiving counselling, opened a case against him. Mandela died in December 2013 at the age of 95, leaving behind a dynasty – including 17 grandchildren – that has had more than its share of emotional scars, infighting and controversy. Mandla Mandela, the eldest of the grandsons, was convicted earlier in 2015 of assaulting a 40-year-old motorist during a road-rage incident. In 2013 Mandla lost a court battle against other family members over the final resting place of his grandfather’s three children, which saw their bones dug up and reburied. Zoleka Mandela, a granddaughter, has told how she suffered sexual abuse as a child, became addicted to alcohol, drugs and sex, tried to kill herself, lost a daughter and son, and was diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2013 two of Mandela’s daughters went to court to dispute control of the millions contained in one of his family trusts, but eventually dropped the action. Mbuso is descended from the first of Mandela’s three wives, Evelyn Mase, and received $300,000 in his grandfather’s will.