Bitter feud over Mandela’s former home

A row has broken out over Nelson Mandela's family home in Johannesburg, with at least three of his grandchildren preparing court papers to fight a possible sale of the property, which has fallen into disrepair. Ndaba Mandela told the Sunday Times that his aunt Makaziwe, Mandela's oldest daughter, was ‘trying to take the house away’ from him and his brothers Mbuso and Andile. Mandela's will stipulated that the home, where he died on 5 December 2013, be used by the children of his late son Makgatho – Mandla, Mbuso, Ndaba and Andile. The will also states: ‘It is my wish that it should also serve as a place of gathering of the Mandela family to maintain its unity long after my death.’ Relations soured further earlier this year, when renovations to the home were abruptly halted. Ndaba said he and Mandela's other granddaughter, Ndileka Mandela, had agreed to an offer by the Collen Mashawana Foundation to renovate the home at no cost. The home on 12th Avenue, where Mandela spent his last years, has been deserted for four years after the three brothers moved out in 2020 after a stand-off with the trustees, who stopped paying the utilities bill which had tripled to R50 000 a month.