JOHANNESBURG — A tribal king in South Africa on Saturday removed a grandson of Nelson Mandela from his post of traditional authority while the former president is hospitalized in critical condition.

King Zwelibanzi Dalindyebo of the Thembu tribe said Mandla Mandela was being expelled “from all rank of duties” over a family feud, which erupted after it was revealed that the grandson had moved the bodies of three of Nelson Mandela’s children to his village of Mvezo in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province in 2011.

The bodies were recently returned to their original burial site in Mandela’s hometown, Qunu, after Mandela family members went to court to force Mandla Mandela to relinquish control of the remains.