Post date: May 21, 2013 4:40:8 PM
Nelson Mandela's daughters are suing the former South African president for the rights to his artworks and control of his millions.
PAARL, NEAR CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA (FEBRUARY 11, 1990) (ITN) - The battle on who should own the Nelson Mandela brand has intensified as two of the former South African president's daughters, Zenani and Makaziwe, sue their father for the rights to his artworks and control of his millions.
According to a newspaper report, two sisters intend to fight an April 2004Johannesburg High Court order which gave Mandela the right to instruct Ismail Ayob, his then lawyer, to stop managing his financial, personal and legal affairs.The court order barred Ayob from selling any of Mandela's artworks.
The legal wrangle has raised concerns and some analysts have called the sisters' action "unAfrican".
"It has very negative implications for the name of Nelson Mandela because he's not only a father to the daughters that are taking him to court, he is a global icon. The message it sends out the world is that the legacy of Nelson Mandela is being rubbished while he is still alive," said Prince Mashele.
Makaziwe Mandela, known as Maki, is Mandela's oldest surviving daughter from a first marriage to nurse Evelyn Mase. Businesswoman Zenani Mandela is the first daughter of Mandela's marriage to his former wife Winnie. She was appointedSouth Africa's ambassador to Argentina last year.
Zenani Mandela was a child when Nelson Mandela was in prison. She married into the Swaziland royal family but later divorced her prince husband.
Mashele says an elderly person in the Mandela family could help resolve the situation which he called "distasteful."
"It tells a story of a broken family that the Mandela family does not cohere and there are no older people that can bring together the children when things like this happen. Because even in an African context, Mandela being an African, the idea of children fighting their father publicly is an anathema in African culture so this, I think it tells the negative story about the children. Maybe the fact that Mandela spent a long time in jail, he was not there to play the role of a father. Maybe it explains a lot in terms of the kind of the family environment in which his children have grown up, what they're doing is certainly distasteful to African and I'm sure it is distasteful to the rest of the world," said Mashele.
Mandela's current lawyer, Bally Chuene has filed an affidavit in response to a lawsuit brought by the sisters, who are represented by Ayob.
The story headlines have upset many Johannesburg residents who have called the court action selfish and said it's motivated by greed.
"I think its greed and selfishness. They're playing on their grand dad's history and reputation and they are trying to make a quick buck." said Jeffrey Marrian.
Another resident recommended Shakespeare's novel, King Lear.
"It sounds like a tragic affair and all I can recommend is that the daughters read King Lear," said Gerarde Beste.
"It won't be nice if such young women and grandchildren go to court for that man. It shouldn't happen like that and really, this thing can be sorted if people can sit down as family members," added Tonica Maphanga.
Mpumi Modise, said Mandela should do what he wants with his money.
"I think let them do whatever with his money, it's his money at the end of the day," she said.
In another court battle the two sisters are trying to push Mandela's long time friend and advocate, George Bizos and other advisors out of companies connected to Mandela.
Makaziwe Mandela and Zenani Mandela allege amongst other things that Bizos and other associates were not appointed by the former president as major shareholders or directors, and have applied for a legal order to have them removed.
Last month, they filed papers asking for Bally Chuene, George Bizos and Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale to remove themselves as directors and trustees of the Mandela Trust and as directors of Harmonieux and Magnifique (Pty) Ltd with immediate effect. In his replying affidavit, Chuene reportedly said he, Bizos and Sexwale had, in 2011, refused to release the trust's money to the daughters without a legal justification.
If the application is granted, Makaziwe and Zenani will be the only two directors of the companies set up to manage proceeds from the sale of his image.
Analyst Prince Mashele says the ongoing legal wrangles will worsen when Nelson Mandela dies. "Its very clear, they have already given out the signal that when he (Nelson Mandela) is gone, they will fight over his estate, that's the message that comes out of this. I mean, they have the audacity to fight over his estate while he is still alive, what more when he is gone," asked Mashele.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation is the custodian of the Mandela brand, but somefamily members have established various brands including the Long Walk To Freedom - set up by Mandela's grandchildren Zamaswazi Dlamini and Zaziwe Dlamini in 2012.
Nelson Mandela is old and frail and has been admitted to hospital three times in four months. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who became South Africa's first black president in 1994 is a global symbol of tolerance and the struggle for equality.
Mandela stepped down as president in 1999 and has not been politically active for a decade.