The revelation of the upcoming auction of the key to Nelson Mandela’s cell in Robben Island prison has sparked outrage in South Africa. As the government demands that the sale be canceled, the Association of Former Political Prisoners has announced its intention to file a theft complaint.
A new voice rises against the auction of the key to the cell of the former South African president Nelson Mandela in the prison of Robben Island, scheduled for January 28, 2021, in New York. After the condemnation of the government, which calls for the cancellation of the sale, the South African Association of Former Political Prisoners has announced that it intends to file a complaint for theft against the former guard of Nelson Mandela, in possession of the key, explains the association’s assistant secretary, Mpho Masemola, on South African radio CapeTalk.
The story emerged just before Christmas, on December 23, 2021, when the British tabloid The Daily Mail reveals that the key to Nelson Mandela’s cell is about to be offered for sale by one of his former keepers, Christo Brand, who has become a friend of the political prisoner. The New York auction house Guernsey’s announces a reserve price of 250,000 dollars for the object, but its president, Arlan Ettinger, quoted by the Daily Mail, estimates then that the sale could exceed one million dollars.
“The Ministry of Arts and Culture is very unhappy with [cette vente], like many people and institutions in South Africa ”, notes the presenter of Cape Talk, John Maytham, who wonders: “How could these keys have been given, or taken by an individual and landed on an American auction site?” “The key belongs to the state, as political prisoners, we see it as theft and we are about to file a complaint”, answers Mpho Masemola, interviewed by the station on January 4, 2022.
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Mathilde Boussion