South Africa: Pretoria returns to court to save Mandela's memories

South Africa is once again fighting to prevent items belonging to Nelson Mandela from being auctioned in the United States. The government has appealed to the Constitutional Court, the latest step in a legal battle that has lasted for several years.

At the heart of the case are 29 items linked to the former South African president. Among them are his identity card, several of his famous shirts, writings, a hearing aid, and a key presented as belonging to his cell on Robben Island, where Mandela spent much of his 27 years of imprisonment. Some of the items are also gifts received from foreign leaders, including Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

For Pretoria, these items cannot be considered mere family mementos. The South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA), the Robben Island Museum, and the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture believe they are part of the country's history and that their export must be subject to heritage protection rules.

On the other side, Makaziwe Mandela, Nelson Mandela's eldest daughter, is defending her right to dispose of the assets inherited from her father. The proposed sale aims, in particular, to finance the construction of a memorial garden in Qunu, in the Eastern Cape province, where the former president is buried.

The standoff is nothing new. The sale was announced as early as 2021 before being suspended in 2022 following legal proceedings initiated by the South African authorities. After a ruling in favor of the sale, the case continued before the higher courts. In January 2026, the Supreme Court of Appeal rejected SAHRA's objections.

This new referral to the Constitutional Court thus brings back to the forefront the right of a family to dispose of the personal property of a figure who has become a national symbol. For the South African authorities, certain objects linked to Mandela now transcend the family sphere and fall within the realm of collective memory.

The Constitutional Court's decision could thus decide not only the fate of these objects, but also a broader question about the protection of South African historical heritage.

Yolande Bazié