Nelson Mandela’s grandchildren have accused their aunt, Zenani Mandela, of hiding their grandmother Winnie Mandela’s assets.
The Embarrassing Scramble And Sale Of Iconic Assets
It seems the Mandela family will keep fighting over assets. Last week, the late struggle icon’s daughter Makaziwe trended for putting her father’s possessions up for sale.
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She auctioned items, including Mandela’s identification book, shirts, sunglasses, briefcases, shoes and sculptures.
Now, another of her daughters, Zenani, is embroiled in a fight with Mandela’s grandchildren over Winnie Mandela’s assets. The grandkids said Aunty Zenani is stashing away the items they are entitled to.
They have also accused her of sidelining them. City Press reported that Zenani is keeping hold of Winnie’s home in Soweto, vehicles, sentimental artefacts, handbags and money people contributed when she died in 2018.
Grandkids Drag Zenani To Court For Hiding Winnie Mandela’s Assets
Grandchildren Accuse Aunty Zenani Of Hiding Winnie Mandela’s Assets [Image: City Press]
One of Nelson Mandela’s grandchildren, Zondwa Mandela, has taken legal action to halt the high court’s appointment of Zenani as the sole executor of Winnie Mandela’s assets. Zondwa, in an affidavit filed on January 10, asserted that following his mother Zindziswa’s death, he and his two siblings collectively inherited 50% of Winnie’s estate as direct heirs.
The dispute emerged in 2020 when Zondwa discovered a letter from Zenani’s lawyers to the master of the high court requesting her appointment as the sole executor. In response, Zondwa’s lawyers asserted his coexecutor rights, replacing their late mother. They sought assurance that no assets would be moved, but Zenani’s lawyers rejected the request and planned to oppose Zondwa’s court application.
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Zondwa accused Zenani and her lawyers of failing to finalise Winnie Mandela’s estate five years after her death. In 2021, he discovered, through a letter to the master of the high court, that certain assets had been removed from Winnie’s Soweto home without proper authorisation. Zondwa called for an investigation into the asset removal decisions and suggested the nomination of him or his siblings as estate executors.
Furthermore, Zondwa claimed Zenani and her children unilaterally decided to renovate Winnie’s house into a museum without consulting him or his siblings. No renovations have occurred, and the whereabouts of the removed assets are unknown, according to Zondwa, who suspects Zenani’s hidden agenda in the estate winding-up process.
