Update 24 January 2024

The Nelson Mandela Foundation has commented on the current debate about the auction of the late great statesman’s items, which will be held in February.

Speaking to explain.co.za, the foundation’s Acting Chief Executive, Professor Verne Harris, said Madiba had no objection to his personal belongings being auctioned off in fundraising initiatives for good causes. “On the contrary, he donated items for this purpose many times. And the Foundation still has a few artefacts given to it by Madiba specifically for this kind of fundraising,” said Harris.

Harris also said that any analysis of a fundraising auction related to Madiba or any artefact related to him had to answer the key questions of ownership, authenticity, heritage value, and fundraising. “In terms of the auction and the items currently under discussion, we have not had access to the artefacts themselves nor to the detailed contextual evidence required to support clear-cut answers to these questions,” said Harris.

However, the foundation has said it was concerned about selling Madiba’s 1993 identity document. “One artefact that we did have access to through Madiba in the past and for which we have significant contextual information is Madiba’s 1993 identity document. We believe it to be self-evident that this item requires the protections afforded by South Africa’s heritage legislation,” concluded Harris.

The South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA), The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, and the Robben Island Museum said last week that they had applied for leave to appeal a Pretoria High Court Judgement, which granted late former president Nelson Mandela’s daughter permission to auction off his items.

Update 19 January 2024

The South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA), The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, and the Robben Island Museum have applied for leave to appeal the Pretoria High Court Judgement, which granted late former president Nelson Mandela’s daughter permission to auction off his items. 

In a statement, SAHRA said they were “assessing the lawfulness and implications of the impending auction and considering all available remedies.” Cue the The Good, The Bad and The Ugly theme.

You will remember that the High Court ruled that Mandela’s daughter, Dr Makaziwe Mandela, had the right to sell the items on auction and that SAHRA’s definition of these items as “heritage items” was too broad to consider. 

The Government had also not asked the court to rule on how these items left South Africa. It was alleged at the time that the people who had removed these items from the country did not obtain the necessary permits to do so.

The minister in the department, Zizi Kodwa, said that it was important that Madiba’s life, work, and experiences remain in the country. Kodwa said the department would support SAHRA in its appeal. “It is therefore critical to support the intervention by SAHRA for the sake of maintaining the country’s rich heritage,” said Kodwa. 

Madiba’s ID book is among the items set to be auctioned in February. 

18 January 2024

Going once, going twice…. Sold to the highest bidder! This is what Dr Makaziwe Mandela will probably be happy to hear next month when she auctions off personal items belonging to her father, the late, great statesman, Nelson Mandela.

This is after the Pretoria High Court granted Mandela the go-ahead to auction off these items. The South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) sought to stop auctioning items they considered “Heritage items”. The Court argued that Mandela had every right to dispose of items she and the others had inherited.

The New York auction house, Guernsey’s, called off the auction in 2022 after allegations of theft were brought against Makaziwe.

But now, the auction is back on and set to occur online on 22 February 2024. 

The money raised from the auction will reportedly be used to build the Mandela Memorial Garden in Qunu, Eastern Cape, where Madiba is buried.

Among the items to be auctioned off are Mandela’s famous flamboyant shirts, letters he wrote from prison, the suit he wore when he was inaugurated and even, shockingly, his official South African Identity Document.

Our IDs, technically, aren’t our property. They belong to The State. According to section 20, subsection three, of the Identification Act No. 68 of 1997, “When it comes to the attention of the Director-General that any person is in possession of a document being or purporting to be an uncanceled identity card of a person who has died, he or she shall without delay seize that document.” The Mandela family should have handed the ID to the Home Affairs Director-General. So yeah, is it really legal?

Bidding on the ID is set to begin at $75,000. The auction house has estimated the value of the items to be between $2 million and $3 million.

Maybe some of that money could be used to refurbish Mandela’s Houghton, Johannesburg estate, which has fallen into disrepair. Mandela’s grandchildren abandoned the 12th Avenue mansion after they failed to pay their utility bills. The grandkids have accused The Nelson Mandela Trust of collusion, saying that the house’s upkeep was the trust’s responsibility.

The Mandela family has dealt with drama and tragedy in recent years, and seemingly, this is just the continuation of the family’s saga. Whatever happens, we hope the family fights to preserve and honour the great Madiba’s legacy.

Image attribution: GovernmentZA, Flickr