New dispute over Mandela’s legacy | EUROtoday

Who owns Nelson Mandela’s legacy? In a years-long authorized dispute between the South African heritage safety authority, the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA), and elements of the previous president’s household, the nation’s Supreme Court of Appeal has now decided in favor of the household.

This may pave the way in which for the public sale and export of seventy private gadgets belonging to the nationwide hero, who died in 2013. These embody a 1996 structure signed by him, a pair of sun shades, one of many well-known “Madiba” shirts, signed books, letters and presents from overseas heads of state and authorities.

At the request of the eldest daughter, Makaziwe Mandela, the memorabilia was speculated to be auctioned by the Guernsey public sale home in New York in January 2022, however the South African authority obtained a brief cease and went to court docket. Apparently she solely discovered in regards to the plans when British media reported {that a} key to Mandela’s cell on Robben Island jail may appeal to a bid of multiple million kilos (1.15 million euros). A former jail guard who as soon as took the broken key additionally wished to public sale it off. Mandela spent eighteen of the 27 years of his imprisonment on the island.

The authority argued that the objects had been cultural belongings inside the that means of South Africa’s heritage safety regulation. The sale should subsequently be formally authorized. South Africa’s tradition minister added on the time that the federal government wished to protect Mandela’s legacy and be sure that his life’s work remained within the nation. Makaziwe Mandela, the one daughter from Mandela’s first marriage to Evelyn Mase, informed the New York Times that she wished “the people of the world to have a piece of Nelson Mandela and for him to remind them of compassion, kindness and forgiveness, especially in the current situation.” She wished to make use of the anticipated proceeds of a number of million {dollars} to construct a Mandela memorial backyard close to his grave in his birthplace, Qunu.

The dispute raised not solely basic authorized questions in regards to the safety of personal property rights within the case of objects of historic significance. He additionally recalled the complaints of a number of of Mandela’s youngsters throughout his lifetime that their well-known father was extra of a “father of the nation” than a household man after his launch from jail.

The Supreme Court of Appeal has now rejected the authority’s request to attraction the earlier occasion’s choice. The attraction judges stated the authority had not adequately justified why the gadgets may solely be auctioned and exported with their consent. Their arguments are largely “speculative” and don’t meet the necessities for a trial. State establishments must consult with “concrete legal bases” in the event that they wished to limit the sale of privately owned gadgets.

It is unclear whether or not the public sale will happen now. Makaziwe Mandela supported the choice and once more sharply criticized the authority. She presumes to know “my father’s final wishes better than those who were with him in his last hours – his family”. No one is extra interested by making certain that Mandela’s legacy is preserved as he wished than those that bear his identify.

As quickly because the court docket introduced the choice, resistance arose within the intensive Mandela clan, which frequently fills the media’s gossip columns with inner household squabbles. Not everybody agrees on auctioning personal gadgets both. Mandla Mandela, one of many grandchildren, stated his aunt didn’t comply with African traditions. A deceased particular person’s possessions must be distributed to all members of the family. Another grandson had described the public sale as a “disgrace” 5 years in the past and accused Makaziwe Mandela of illegally eradicating some gadgets from Mandela’s home. A call has not but been made as to what ought to occur to the gadgets deliberate for public sale.