(The Citizen) – The Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed her appeal against a lower court’s ruling that she was not the rightful owner of the property in his childhood village.
Mandela, the country’s first democratic president, spent much of his early years in Qunu in the Eastern Cape province after being born nearby. He regularly returned to the village after his retirement and was buried there in 2013.
In his will, the anti-apartheid icon left the house to his family trust, but Madikizela-Mandela claimed it belonged to her under customary law because it was bought in 1989 while they were still married.
The couple were wed in 1956 and divorced in 1996.
Madikizela-Mandela had approached the Supreme Court in Bloemfontein to challenge the 2016 ruling by the Eastern Cape High Court that said she had no claim to the home.
“A reasonable person in (her) position… would have asserted a right to ownership of the property before the death of Mr Mandela,” says justice Jeremiah Shongwe, delivering the ruling.
Mandela was arrested in 1962 and spent 27 years in jail before becoming South Africa’s first black president in the post-apartheid elections of 1994.
On his death bed, he left his assets to family members, personal staff, schools and the ruling African National Congress party.
Mandela’s will, which did not mention Madikizela-Mandela, said that he wanted the Qunu homestead to “be used by my family in perpetuity in order to preserve the unity of the Mandela family”.
Mandela married his third wife Graca Machel, the widow of Mozambique president Samora Machel, in 1998.
This report first appeared on The Citizen website.
Thief, I don’t know what is wrong with some people
Court s acting on their seen paper not doing anything bad nor denying her anything
Most of Mandela’s asset was willed to school s,personnel staff..off course he married note than one wive..
The court did the right thing
I know you never cared when he was in prison now you want to enjoy national cake
You were not mention on Mandela’s will and you want to claim properties,…people sef..
were ar u wen the husband is still alive
its high time she face and settle down herself
dis woman shud sit down one place and stop puknosing into other peoples affair
mere looking at her she will be troublesome person
the court tell am d truth gbam
wetin she wan use property do again na…she don old na
wetin she de find she lost sometin ni
wetin dis old woman de find he lost something ni
madam park welll
lol
She wasn’t married to Nelson Mandela anymore now, which one is she now coming to comman claim property? Na was ooo…!!! Try this in Naija and sorry will be your first name.
I too support Nelson
Selfness no go kill her… Good one Nelson.
Covetousness. Leave something for the family now. Respect the man’s wishes. Women forget that the men they are married to once had support from their families and they need to pay back in kindness