South Africa Moves to Stop Auction of Nelson Mandela’s Personal Items

The South African government has approached the Supreme Court in a bid to stop a United States-based auction house from selling personal belongings of the late former President Nelson Mandela.

The South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA), the Robben Island Museum and the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture are seeking a court declaration that the proposed sale is unlawful.

The authorities argue that 29 of the items scheduled for auction form part of South Africa’s national heritage and cannot be taken out of the country without the necessary approval.

The legal dispute centres on several of Mandela’s personal effects, including his identity document and some of the colourful shirts he became known for wearing.

New York-based auction house Guernsey’s had planned to auction the items with the backing of Mandela’s daughter, Makaziwe Mandela, who had previously given her approval for the sale.

Makaziwe said the proceeds would be used to fund a memorial garden near her father’s burial site in Qunu, the Eastern Cape village where Mandela grew up.

However, SAHRA maintains that the objects are protected under South African heritage laws, arguing that exporting them without official permission would be unlawful.

Among the items at the centre of the dispute are the key to Mandela’s Robben Island prison cell, where he spent 18 of his 27 years in captivity, as well as clothing, handwritten letters and a hearing aid.

Mandela, a towering figure in the struggle against apartheid, became South Africa’s first democratically elected president in May 1994. He served until June 1999.

He died in December 2013 at the age of 95. His estate has still not been fully wound up.