Durban - The Nelson Mandela Marathon, held to trace Mandela’s last footsteps before he was arrested in 1962 and sent to Robben Island for 27 years, faces legal hurdles after a bitter dispute erupted over who should stage it.
The marathon was started in 2012 and it was a partnership between the KwaZulu-Natal government and the uMgungundlovu district municipality.
It was run between Manaye Hall, iMbali township in Pietermaritzburg and the Nelson Mandela capture site. Manaye Hall was where he addressed his last public meeting (All Africa Conference) before the apartheid government arrested him in Howick.
With the blessings of the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Mandela royal family, the race used to attract hundreds of international runners, politicians and corporate sponsors, raking in millions in revenue.
Due to Covid-19, the marathon was not held in August 2020 and August 2021. When it was supposed to be staged in August this year, a dispute erupted.
What sparked the dispute was that KwaZulu-Natal Athletics (KZNA), under the presidency of Steve Mkasi, wanted to take over the marathon, pitting itself against the district municipality which had been hosting the event.
KZNA argues athletics clubs are the ones empowered to host races and others can only come in as sponsors.
Now, the matter is going to be heard by the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday.
On Wednesday, uMgungundlovu district municipality spokesperson, Brian Zuma, said it was mind-boggling why KZNA wanted to proceed with the race even though there was a dispute.
NEWS: The historic Nelson Mandela marathon which is held in KZN to trace Mandela’s last footsteps before he was arrested in 1962 & sent to Robben Island for 27 years, faces legal hurdles after a bitter dispute erupted over who should stage it. KZN Athletics is claiming it. @IOL
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) July 27, 2022
“We wish to state categorically that as uMgungundlovu District Municipality, we are not at all involved with the race as announced to take place on the 7th of August. We have communicated this with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, who gave us permission to use the Nelson Mandela name for the race.
“The desperation to persist with staging this race no matter what, as demonstrated by the organisers, leaves a lot to be desired. We will not sit back and fold our arms when a project that we have grown so much over the years, gets hijacked in the manner that it is,” Zuma said.
Mkasi disputed the version of Zuma, saying what should concern people was a district municipality leaving its mandate to snatch marathons from athletes.
“The matter will be ventilated in court tomorrow in Pietermaritzburg, a media release that comes from someone that should be playing music and leave athletics to athletics people is just that… KZNA is in charge of athletics in KwaZulu-Natal, uMgungunndlovu district municipality is in charge of service delivery in the district of uMgungundlovu. So, organising a race is not service delivery, it does not benefit ratepayers if they organise the race, what will benefit ratepayers is if they give (the marathon) sponsorship,” Mukasi said.
Mukasi alleged there were people who wanted to enrich themselves using marathons at the expense of athletes.
“The issue is that people outside athletics want to use athletics as a cash cow. We say ‘not In our names’. Where did the race entries of the race go to from 2012 to 2019? How did athletics benefit? What legacy projects are there?” Mukasi asked.
The marathon has always faced disputes, and at some point the district municipality had to reach last minute agreements with an athletic club from Edendale township and certain athletes from Hammarsdale who claimed the idea as theirs.
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