He suffered greatly in his final months , but Nelson Mandela 's last breaths were peaceful , says his eldest daughter , Maki Mandela . She describes the end as a `` beautiful passing on '' but says his death and burial came as a relief to her after his long health struggles . `` There were times I was telling the doctors I think enough is enough , '' Maki Mandela says in an exclusive interview with CNN from her home in Johannesburg . `` As doctors they had their duty to try everything up to the last moment , but for me as a daughter it was excruciating watching that . '' The former South African President , who led his country out of decades of apartheid after being imprisoned 27 years , died in December at age 95 . For a year before his death , her father was on dialysis for kidney failure and a ventilator to help him breathe . He was fed intravenously through tubes into his stomach , and his arms and hands grew swollen due to the intravenous antibiotics and other medications he was receiving . Bedridden and incontinent , the Nobel Peace Prize winner had no quality of life , his daughter says . Recently writing in favor of assisted dying , former Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu questioned the treatment of Nelson Mandela in his final months , saying it was `` disgraceful . '' In an editorial for Britain 's The Observer , Tutu singled out South African President Jacob Zuma and other politicians who took photos with a clearly confused and ill Mandela and called it an `` affront to his dignity . '' Maki Mandela says she constantly questioned her father 's team of state medical doctors about why his life was being prolonged . `` I said , 'Guys , when do we accept that we have reached the end and we ca n't play God ? ' `` But she says she accepted the doctors ' decisions and knows they were bound to `` try everything . '' She says she could n't fault the care and dedication of the team of medics and nurses who looked after her father 24 hours a day . `` They treated him with dignity and respect , '' she says . Throughout his long illness , his heart remained strong , perhaps not surprising for a man who dedicated his life to the struggle against apartheid and helped to lead his nation to democracy . `` When the heart started giving , it was a matter of days , '' Maki Mandela says . The anti-apartheid icon was buried on his farm in Qunu , a remote rural area in the Eastern Cape where he grew up . `` That whole place is a quarry . We had to dynamite the place for us to create his burial place , '' Maki Mandela says , adding that her father chose the location . In keeping with traditions of his Xhosa tribe , Nelson Mandela was laid to rest on a reed mat on the floor of the grave , as if he had gone to sleep like his ancestors did in generations past . The architecture of the grave is such that his coffin is not covered with soil , which is considered bad luck . Maki Mandela says she and most family members have not been to visit his grave recently but hope to do so soon . `` People are starting to say , make requests , 'Can we visit the grave ? ' `` she says . She says it 's too early now but expects the family will open the area to visitors and tourists in a year or so . Plans are in place for a visitors ' center and memorial garden , where tourists will be able to walk around the grave and see it from a viewing point . And in homage to Nelson Mandela 's royal lineage and his monumental legacy , his family has given the grave site the nickname of `` The Big House . ''
Daughter says Nelson Mandela 's death was a relief after he suffered so much . Archbishop Desmond Tutu has called Mandela 's treatment in his final months `` disgraceful '' Maki Mandela says she questioned doctors about prolonging her father 's life . But his medical team `` treated him with dignity and respect , '' she says .