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Mandela auction suspended amid row over heritage

Louis Oelofse
January 30, 2024

Seventy personal items of the former South African president were set to go under the hammer in New York in February.

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President Bill Clinton shares a joke with former South African President Nelson Mandela
A champagne cooler former US President Bill Clinton gave Mandela was on the list of items to be auctioned offImage: Jon Hrusa/dpa/picture alliance

A controversial auction of 70 personal items belonging to former South African President Nelson Mandela has been suspended.

"This auction has been suspended," a note on New York-based Guernsey's auction house stated on Tuesday.

The auction, which was scheduled to take place in February, would have included some personal belongings of the anti-apartheid hero, including his identity document and hearing aids. 

His eldest daughter, Makaziwe Mandela, was putting the items — including gifts from former US Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton — up for sale as part of a deal with Guernsey's.

South Africa's Heritage Resources Agency, which is responsible for the protection of the country's cultural heritage, backed by the South African government, launched a legal bid to halt the sale.

Unclear if sale will proceed

A catalog of the items — which are expected to fetch several million dollars — was up on website of Guernsey's auction house last week. It had described the items as "nothing short of remarkable."

"To imagine owning an artifact touched by this great leader is almost unthinkable," the auction house wrote.

It did not comment on why it suspended the auction or if it would ultimately go ahead.

South Africans take stock of Mandela's legacy

Heritage agency's legal bid to block Mandela auction

The heritage agency said the auction was suspended after it made a request to Guernsey's to wait until all court cases in this regard had been concluded.

The auction house has been working with Mandela's oldest daughter Makaziwe, who won a court judgment in December allowing the sale to proceed. The heritage agency said it had lodged an application for leave to appeal that judgment.T

"Sahra welcomes the decision by Guernsey's Auction House to suspend the auction. This aligns with our commitment to the conservation of SA's cultural heritage, and we appreciate the recognition of the sensitivity surrounding these significant artefacts."

Mandela's daughter said she wanted, "people in the world to have a piece of Nelson Mandela and to remind them, especially in the current situation, of compassion, of kindness, of forgiveness," she told the New York Times.

South Africa's minister of arts and culture, Zizi Kodwa, said the government wants to "preserve the legacy of former President Mandela and ensure that his life's work" remains in the country.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.