The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed an appeal aimed at stopping Makaziwe Mandela, the eldest daughter of former president Nelson Mandela, from auctioning her late father’s personal belongings. The judgment was delivered on Thursday, January 22. The appeal was brought by the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA), together with the Robben Island Museum and the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, who sought to block the sale of 29 items linked to the former president.
Among the items listed for auction are the keys to Mandela’s Robben Island prison cell, his hearing aid, his identity document, and a copy of the 1996 Constitution signed by him before it was enacted into law. Makaziwe had planned to proceed with the auction, but the applicants launched a legal challenge in March 2022 at the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, seeking an interdict to prevent the sale. The high court dismissed the application in December 2023, prompting the applicants to seek leave to appeal to the SCA.
Before the SCA, SAHRA argued that the items should be regarded as part of South Africa’s national heritage and protected under the National Heritage Resources Act. The agency contended that objects linked to Mandela automatically qualified for special protection and could not be sold or removed without its approval through a two-stage permitting process. It ruled that the law does not support SAHRA’s interpretation and found no legal basis for requiring owners to follow such a process before dealing with the items.
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