South Africa Again Seeks to Halt US Auction of Mandela Items
The case centers on 29 objects, including Mandela’s identity card and prison key, as the government argues they were exported without permission.
- South Africa's government has petitioned the Constitutional Court to block a United States auction of 29 items once belonging to Nelson Mandela, renewing legal efforts after earlier court rulings cleared the sale.
- The dispute began in 2021 when SAHRA discovered the planned sale by New York-based Guernsey, which includes Mandela's prison key from Robben Island, where he spent 27 years in jail.
- Mandela's eldest daughter, Makaziwe Mandela, and former prison warder Christo Brand authorized the auction to fund a memorial garden in Qunu, with a key valued at about $1.35 million.
- The government's argument rests on the National Heritage Resources Act, though a Pretoria High Court judgment previously questioned whether the law's broad definition should apply to ordinary personal possessions rather than unique artifacts.
- Determining whether these personal objects remain available for private sale or gain protected status, the Constitutional Court will resolve the tension between private property rights and the state's duty to preserve South Africa's political history.
18 Articles
18 Articles
The judicial battle of Cape Town continues to prevent the sale in the US of 29 objects belonging to the former president, including the key to the Robben Island prison cell. The family wants to dedicate the proceeds to the memorial in Qunu, his native village. But...
(Johannesburg=Yonhap News) Correspondent Na Hak-jin = Some family members pushing for an auction of the belongings of former President Nelson Mandela, known as the 'Father of the Nation' of South Africa, and...
South Africa makes fresh bid to block $1.35 million auction of Nelson Mandela’s belongings after 4-year legal battle
South Africa has returned to its Constitutional Court in a renewed attempt to stop the auction in the United States of 29 personal items once belonging to Nelson Mandela, escalating a four-year legal battle over whether the memorabilia should be treated as private property or protected national heritage.
The government of South Africa resorted to the Supreme Court of the country on Tuesday to try to prevent the auction in the United States of items that belonged to Nelson Mandela, arguing that they are part of the national heritage. This court battle, which began four years ago, involves 29 items, from the identity portfolio of the anti-apartheid hero to some of the former president's iconic shirts. The size of the palm of the hand: Chinese dog …
The government of South Africa has turned to the Constitutional Court to try to block the auction sale in the United States of 29 objects belonging to Nelson Mandela, claiming that they are part of the country's historical and cultural heritage. (ANSA)
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