South African court clears sale of Nelson Mandela artefacts

A South African court has rejected an attempt by the country’s heritage authority to stop the sale and export of items linked to Nelson Mandela.

The Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) did not have the legal grounds to block the sale. The items, around 70 in total, were set to be exported to the United States for auction.

They include personal belongings such as a cell key from Robben Island, where Mandela spent 18 years in prison, a pair of sunglasses, and one of his floral shirts. Other items listed for sale are a signed copy of South Africa’s 1996 Constitution, a tennis racquet Mandela used while imprisoned, drawings, identification documents, and gifts from world leaders, including former US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.

The objects belong to Mandela’s eldest daughter, Makaziwe Mandela, and Christo Brand, a former Robben Island prison warden who later became close to Mandela.

SAHRA argued that the items were part of South Africa’s national heritage and should not be sold or taken out of the country. The agency said it learned about the planned auction in 2021 through a newspaper report and later contacted the US auction house to stop the sale.

But the court ruled that SAHRA had interpreted the heritage law too broadly. Judges said the agency failed to explain clearly why the items should legally be classified as protected heritage objects, while the owners had provided detailed reasons why they were not.

Makaziwe Mandela welcomed the ruling, saying the agency had wrongly assumed it understood her father’s wishes better than his family. She said the family was committed to preserving Mandela’s legacy.

She also said no final decision has been made on whether the items will now be sold. The proceeds were originally intended to fund a memorial garden at Mandela’s grave in Qunu, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape.

It remains unclear whether the government will take further legal steps to block the sale. Officials from the department of sport, arts and culture have not yet commented.

Nelson Mandela died in 2013 at the age of 95. He was released from prison in 1990, became South Africa’s first black president in 1994, and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for his role in ending apartheid.