Madiba Legacy For Sale: South Africans Unimpressed With Mandela’s Daughter Auctioning Nelson Mandela’s Personal Items
The verdict has been passed and the auction date has been set: heirlooms of the late South African president Nelson Mandela will be auctioned off, thanks to Makaziwe Mandela winning her bid against the South African Heritage Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA).
The legal tussle between Mandela’s daughter and the SAHRA lasted for two years, with the stance of the latter being against Makaziwe going ahead with the auction.
The original date of the auction, before being brought to a screeching halt, was the 28th of January 2022. New York auction company Guernsey has posted a new date for the sale, settling for the 22nd of February 2024. The auction, according to Makaziwe, is to raise funds for Mandela’s memorial garden in the Eastern Cape.
Makaziwe Mandela
Among the seventy items listed for sale at this year’s auction are: Madiba’s official identity document that was issued to him in 1993 before he became president, personal gifts from past US presidents, and his hearing aids, among other things.
South Africans on X were altogether disgruntled about this development, with many of them questioning the credence of Madiba’s descendants as a whole and the lack of respect for Mandela’s legacy.
@African_Spring posted: “Imagine squandering your inheritance and your father was Nelson Mandela now you’re so broke you even want to auction his ID?”
@_Ramps commented on the family’s inability to manage generational wealth, saying: “We really need a[n] I Blew It episode for Mandela’s, because blowing generational wealth in less than 3 decades is INSANE.”
@hlovo_ condemned Makaziwe, saying: “That’s nasty work man. You’re lazy if you can’t raise funds as Mandela’s daughter bro. There’s no need to resort to this.”