Pretoria – The South African Heritage Resource Agency (SAHRA) on Wednesday told the high court in Pretoria that items linked to former president Nelson Mandela that they’re trying to prevent from being auctioned were of “cultural significance”.
SAHRA was back before the court to request leave to appeal a December ruling dismissing its application for an interdict barring the items in question from being auctioned.
Dr. Makaziwe Mandela, former president Nelson Mandela’s daughter, had selected the items to go under the hammer, but the auction was put off following litigation by SAHRA.
Dr. Makaziwe Mandela insists that she is the rightful owner of the items because they were given to her.
Proceeds from the auction are intended to finance a memorial garden honouring Mandela, who dedicated most of his life to fighting white minority rule.
Mandela died in 2013 at the age of 95.
SAHRA’s application for leave to appeal the ruling that threw out its attempt to interdict the auction was heard virtually.
The bone of contention was the classification as heritage objects of items selected for auction – which included Mandela’s SA Identity Document.
Initially, the auction of Mandela’s personal items had been scheduled to take place on 22 February 2024.
As many as 70 items belonging to Mandela such as his ID, letters from prison, walking stick, drawings he sketched while in prison, and valuable gifts were due to go under the hammer at the New York auction company, Guernsey’s Auction.
The virtual court hearing heard that there were 12 characteristics used to identify a heritage object.
Advocate Robin Pearse argued the definition of a heritage object in December’s judgment was “too wide”.
Advocate Pearse argued that clarification was necessary of how many of these characteristics an object had to meet to qualify.
The court also heard arguments about whether a broken key found in the drawer of Mandela’s warder Christo Brand was, in fact, a heritage object.
The key is thought to be the one to Mandela’s cell on Robben Island.
Another item that was looked at was the constitution book that was signed by Mandela with an endearing message to Brand.
The court heard that the book was a heritage object because it carried a personal message written by Mandela in Afrikanse.
However, Advocate Russel MacWilliam for Brand told the court that the applicants failed to show why they believed an appellant court would come to a different conclusion and prevent the auctioning of the key and the copy of the constitution, which he said could not be classified as “Mandela objects”.
Robben Island has never confirmed that the broken key was, in fact, the one to Mandela’s cell.
Judgment in the matter was reserved by Judge Selby Baqwa.
