Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla, has broken his silence on Thursday’s SCA ruling, revealing deep family divisions over the auction of the liberation hero’s personal belongings, reports News24.

While declining to comment directly on the SCA crushing defeat of the SA Heritage Resources Agency (Sahra), Mandla delivered a scathing indictment of his aunt’s handling of his grandfather’s legacy.

‘It (the artefacts) belongs to the Mandela family,’ he said on Friday, a day after Judge Pieter Meyer dismissed Sahra’s appeal in a judgment that tore apart the heritage agency’s legal arguments.

The ruling clears the path for Dr Makaziwe Mandela and former prison warder Christo Brand to auction nearly 100 items, including Nelson Mandela’s beige floral ‘Madiba’ shirt, Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses, ID book, and a Constitution signed by the former President.

But Mandla revealed the court victory masked a devastating family rift.

‘Aunt Maki has taken all those things herself and made them hers and she is auctioning them. It has not been distributed to the family in front of the entire family,’ he said, referencing traditional African customs where a dead person’s belongings are gathered before all family members for distribution.

The family divisions have played out dramatically in public. In February 2021, grandson Ndaba Mandela lashed out at the auction plans and opened a criminal case against Makaziwe, alleging 22 items had been ‘illegally taken’ from Nelson Mandela’s home.

The case remains unresolved. 

Responding to Mandla’s remarks, Makaziwe said in a statement: ‘Nobody is more invested in ensuring Tata’s legacy endures in the way he would want to be remembered than those who carry his name.’

Reflecting on the ruling, Makaziwe said she was relieved by the outcome but was ‘confounded by the motivation for launching this marathon legal battle in the first place.’

According to IoL she said: ‘It is arrogant of an entity such as Sahra to presume to know my father’s last wishes better than those who were beside him at the end – his family. His legacy is ours as well. It is not, and never will be, a political football.’ She said nothing had yet been decided about the objects that were to go under the hammer four years ago.

‘Our intention has always been to create a fitting living Garden of Remembrance where Tata is buried – a pilgrimage destination to remind the world of his social justice legacy – but how that will be achieved is yet to be determined.'

Full News24 report

Full IoL report