Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla, says the house that belonged to his grandmother and which is the subject of a tug-of-war between him and a family living in it will not be used as a tourist destination.
He said the house would be used by the heirs of his late father, Makgatho Mandela.
He disputed a comment recently made in a minority judgment by an adjudicator of the Gauteng Housing Board, Len Els, who said Mandla Mandela intended to turn the house into a museum in honour of the Mandela legacy.
Els, who recommended that the house remain in the hands of Emma Petunia Ngcongolo’s family, commented that the function of the tribunal was to prevent homelessness.
But Mandla Mandela said house 5818 Orlando East would not be turned into a museum.
He said the Ngcongolo family, who refused to move out of the house, had suggested to the adjudication board that the house was to be turned into a tourist destination, similar to the Mandela house in Vilikazi Street, Soweto. “This is far from the truth,” he told the Pretoria News.
The rights to the house have been the subject of a dispute between Mandla Mandela and Ngcongolo for years.
Ngcongolo said she and her family had been staying in the house for 19 years and that Mandla Mandela’s father had promised it to her before his death. She said she was a member of the Mandela family as her mother had been the sister of Mandela’s first wife, Evelyn.
But Mandla Mandela said the house was his as it had been left to his father by his grandmother, Evelyn.
The housing board twice ruled in favour of Mandla Mandela and earlier this month turned down an appeal by the Ngcongolo family.
The family is set on fighting the matter in the Pretoria High Court.
Mandla Mandela, in welcoming the decision of the board, said it was unfortunate that he had to go the legal route to resolve the matter.
But Ngcongolo’s lawyer, Louise du Plessis, said she would fight for the rights of the Ngcongolo family, which needed the accommodation, while Mandla Mandela did not. - Pretoria News