'Zuma made Mandela feel ashamed' - Libyan PM

South African President Jacob Zuma (2nd L) stands behind a statue of former South African President Nelson Mandela outside Parliament in Cape Town.
Image: POOL REUTERS

ormer senior Libyan official accused President Jacob Zuma of making the late Nelson Mandela "feel ashamed", according to e-mails sent by US presidential contender Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state.

The e-mails, released on Friday after a court order, reveal that Zuma had a frosty relationship with Mahmoud Jibril, who was interim prime minister of Libya during the civil war that claimed the life of Muammar Gaddafi.

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Clinton's e-mails about the 2011 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya were handed to the US State Department on Friday. They form part of more than 55000 pages Clinton has turned over to the State Department.

They span two years of Clinton's stint as secretary of state - 2011 and 2012.

An e-mail sent to Clinton by her aide and confidante Huma Abedin, dated August 21 2011, mentions Zuma in a briefing about the uprising in Libya and whether a battle for the capital, Tripoli, could be avoided.

At the time Jibril chaired the executive board of the National Transitional Council in Libya. The e-mail discussed the issue of humanitarian and financial need in the war-ravaged country, and noted that Jibril "understood the need for continued outreach to Africa".

However, said Abedin: "Part of our South African problem may derive from Jibril's poor relations with Zuma, with Jibril telling us that he recently accused Zuma of making Nelson Mandela feel ashamed".

Presidential spokesman Harold Maloka did not respond to a request for comment.