SCA dismisses bid to have Nelson Mandela's belongings sold

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed a bid to prevent the sale of former president Nelson Mandela's personal items, bringing an almost four-year legal battle to an end.

Madiba’s eldest daughter, Makaziwe Mandela, planned to auction dozens of personal items belonging to her late father.

The proceeds would be used for the construction of a memorial garden at Madiba’s burial site in Qunu, in the Eastern Cape.

But in March 2022, the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) intervened, instituting legal action, to prevent the auction from taking place.

In her ruling, SCA acting judge, Thandi Norman, noted that SAHRA failed to establish that dozens of personal items of Mandela, are heritage objects.

SAHRA hauled Mandela’s eldest daughter, Makaziwe as well as Christo Brand, a former Robben Island prison warden, to court in 2024.

Together with the Robben Island Museum and the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, SAHRA attempted to prevent the pair from auctioning off dozens of personal items belonging to Madiba at an auction house in New York.

Some of the items listed for auction include his identity document, the keys to his Robben Island prison cell, his ray ban aviator sunglasses, and a copy of the 1996 Constitution that he signed before it was enacted into law.

Both parties were ordered to bear their own costs in respect of the appeal.