The Mthatha High Court has dismissed the appeal of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela who had laid claim to the Qunu home of former President Nelson Mandela. The court also ordered Madikizela-Mandela to pay the cost of the application, according to a report on The Citizen site. She filed an appeal in April after losing an earlier bid to lay claim to Madiba’s Qunu home in the Eastern Cape.

Madikizela-Mandela’s lawyer Mvuzo Notyesi reportedly said they would now petition the SCA. A Daily Dispatch report notes Madikizela-Mandela’s legal team, which consisted of instructing attorney Notyesi of Mvuzo Notyesi Inc, Advocate Patrick Mtshaulana SC and Kameshni Pillay SC argued the judiciary should not close its eyes to customary practices.

They said that customary practices should not be interpreted from the perspective of common law. The executors’ representatives argued in turn that the court application was launched 17 years after Madiba and Madikizela-Mandela were divorced, and after Mandela had passed on. They said the period of delay was excessive and not satisfactorily explained.

Mtshaulana maintained that Madikizela-Mandela only knew after Mandela’s death that the property was disposed under his name, not hers. He said there were no records of the said traditional council and community resolutions to donate land to Mandela.

Full Daily Dispatch report (subscription needed)

Full report on The Citizen site