London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Planned Auction Of Key To Nelson Mandela's Prison Cell Halted

Planned Auction Of Key To Nelson Mandela's Prison Cell Halted

The key to the Robben island prison cell, where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in jail, had been slated by US auction house Guernsey's to go under the hammer on January 28.
The planned auction of the key to the prison cell that once held South Africa's first black president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela has been suspended, the auctioneers said Friday.

The key to the Robben island prison cell, where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in jail, had been slated by US auction house Guernsey's to go under the hammer on January 28.

Guernsey's announced on its website that the auction has been postponed until further notice "pending a review" by South African Heritage Resource Agency.

The government agency called for the auction to be stopped "not because they believed anything was stolen but that things left South Africa without necessary permits," Guernsey's president Arlan Ettinger told AFP on phone.

Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa, commended the auction house for agreeing to suspend the auction.

In a statement, the ministry said "the key symbolises South Africa's painful history whilst also representing triumph of the human spirit over evil.

"This key is living proof of South Africans' long walk to freedom and belongs to the people of South Africa. It therefore must rightfully be returned to the country".

The key was one of the items to be auctioned, among an assortment including an iconic "Madiba" shirt, eyeglasses and ceremonial pens.

The proceeds were due to be used to build Mandela Memorial Garden in his home village where his remains are buried.

Ettinger said his firm had been contacted by one of Mandela's daughters to auction the paraphernalia, including the key.

Mandela's former prison guard Christo Brand, who struck up an unlikely and enduring friendship with the anti-apartheid icon, had been in possession of the key since the 1980s.

It was broken and he "sent it back to the authorities on the main land, ... but it was returned to him, and he put it in a drawer and it stayed there for 30 years until he was contacted by a museum which was assembling things relating to Mandela," said Ettinger, commending Brand for being "very generous to give up this possession to help build the garden".

The auctioneers explained that they had complied with the government decision.

"I know his is upsetting to the Mandela family, it's upsetting to us, but... they (government) are doing what they think is best, we just disagree with them," he said.

AFP was unable to get any immediate response from the Mandela family.

Mandela was elected as first president of democratic South Africa in May 1994 and served in the role until June 1999.

He died aged 95 in December 2013.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×