Africa-Press. South Africa’s High Court of Appeal has rejected the attempt by the National Heritage Resources Agency to block the sale and export of a collection of personal items linked to the late leader Nelson Mandela, ruling that the agency had no legal basis to halt the process.
The case involves around 70 items scheduled for export to the United States for public auction, including highly symbolic objects such as the key to Mandela’s cell on Robben Island where he spent 18 years in prison, his sunglasses, one of his famous embroidered shirts, a signed copy of the 1996 South African Constitution, a tennis racket he used during detention, personal drawings and documents, as well as gifts from world leaders including former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle. The items are owned by Makaziwe Mandela, the late leader’s eldest daughter, and Christo Brand, a former Robben Island prison guard who later became a close friend of Mandela.
The Heritage Agency had argued that these items are part of the national heritage and should not be sold or exported, stating that it learned of the planned auction through a news report and later sought to cancel it.
Court ruling and reactions
The court ruled that the agency had interpreted heritage law too broadly, exceeding its legal mandate, noting that it had not provided clear legal justification to classify the items as “protected heritage,” while the owners presented detailed reasons opposing this classification.
Makaziwe Mandela welcomed the ruling, saying the agency wrongly assumed it knew her father’s wishes better than the family, and reaffirmed the family’s commitment to preserving his legacy. She clarified that the final decision on the sale has not yet been made, and that proceeds would have been used to create a memorial park near Mandela’s grave in the village of Qunu, Eastern Cape.
Nelson Mandela passed away in 2013 at the age of 95, after a long struggle against the apartheid regime, culminating in his release in 1990, election as South Africa’s first Black president in 1994, and receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for his role in ending apartheid.
