ANC president Jacob Zuma has rejected claims that the party had abused an elderly Nelson Mandela for electioneering purposes.

"Mandela wanted to be at that rally. He requested a meeting with me back in Gauteng and asked that a rally be organised in the Eastern Cape for him to attend. When I told him we should rather organise one in Gauteng, he said no, I want to go to Idutywa," Zuma told thousands of people at the party's election rally in Khayelitsha, Cape Town on Sunday.

He came out strongly against newspapers that "talk about us like they know us and don't even ask what happened."

"Who are they? The ANC is Madiba's ANC. What is discussed between him and us his volunteers is non of their business ... they should be ashamed."

The Sunday Times reported on Sunday that the party had risked the 90-yeqr-old former president's health, and flouted security procedures by parading him at an election rally in Idutywa in the Eastern Cape last weekend.

"They think they know Madiba more than we do... who are these people? We know him better. Madiba does not belong to a foundation but the ANC."

Zuma said an "angry" Mandela decided to stand up and take action after seeing what was happening in his organisation.

He said he was hurt by what was being reported about their leader.

Earlier, the party said in a statement suggestions that Mandela was "paraded" at the rally, or somehow coerced into attending, were false and insulting.

However, it said that it regrets any problems that may have arisen in the arrangement of his travel.

"[We] will discuss these matters with the Nelson Mandela Foundation to avoid any confusion in the future."

According to the Sunday Times, Mandela was flown from Lanseria Airport to Mthatha without proper security or medical arrangements.

Sunday's rally was held at the Khayelitsha stadium, an open field in the black township.

Marshals at times battled to control sections of the crowd, which the ANC put at 40,000 and the police at about half that.

People at the front were at times pushed up against a metal and wire barriers as marshals battled to push them back.

Several children were lifted to safety over the barrier, while one young woman was carried off on a stretcher by metro medical personnel.