The South African government turned to the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, 8 September, in a bid to block the auction in the United States of 29 items that belonged to Nelson Mandela, the country’s former president. Authorities argue that the objects form part of the national heritage and cannot be sold or removed from the country without official authorisation.
The legal dispute, which has dragged on for four years, involves items ranging from Mandela’s identity document — a potent symbol of his struggle against apartheid — to some of his most iconic shirts. The sale is being promoted by a US-based auction house in collaboration with one of Mandela’s daughters.
The South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) and the Department of Arts and Culture petitioned the Constitutional Court to declare both the sale and the export of the items unlawful, arguing that they must remain in South Africa.
The objects “are considered heritage objects and their export without authorisation was illegal,” the two bodies argued, according to a case summary published by the court.
Originally scheduled for 2021, the sale — organised by Guernsey’s, a New York-based auction house — was suspended in 2022 following legal action brought by SAHRA, which sought to reassert control over a portion of the items.
After South African courts subsequently cleared the way for the auction to proceed, Guernsey’s again announced the sale in 2024. The process was once more halted, however, as the South African government continued its legal efforts to prevent the items from leaving the country.
South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal rejected SAHRA’s objections in January, ruling that the heritage protection body was required to demonstrate “the extent to which each of those objects constituted a heritage object,” according to the court summary.
Makaziwe Mandela, one of Nelson Mandela’s daughters, had authorised the sale to fund the construction of a memorial garden near her father’s grave in the village of Qunu, in the Eastern Cape.
Among the other items up for auction are garments, manuscripts, and gifts presented to Mandela by US heads of state, including Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
Nelson Mandela was elected South Africa’s first post-apartheid president in May 1994 and served until June 1999. He died in December 2013 at the age of 95.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/09/09/mundo/africa/africa-do-sul-governo-recorre-ao-tc-para-travar-leilao-de-bens-de-mandela-nos-eua/
