Mandela’s homes hang in the balance

Former President Nelson Mandela’s first house in Soweto and final residence in Houghton both show signs of being lost to disrepair and mismanagement.

These are popular tourist destinations in Johannesburg, most commonly on red bus tourism tours across the city.

However, five years after going into liquidation, the Nelson Mandela House Museum still lacks any form of permanent governance, leaving the tourist attraction dying a slow death without intervention.

The late President’s final home in Houghton, Johannesburg, where he passed away in 2013, has fallen into disrepair despite proposed plans to open it to the public.

David Fleminger, Johannesburg Heritage Foundation Chair, told Newsday that the foundation has noted these developments with concern, and would like to see these historic sites put into productive use so that they may contribute to tourism and community upliftment.

“However, since both properties are privately owned, this remains a matter that needs to be resolved between the members of the Mandela Family,” Fleminger said.

“We can only appeal for a swift and sustainable solution that upholds the heritage significance of the two sites within the relevant legislation.”

The Vilikazi House entered liquidation in 2020, after the company that owned the facility, the Soweto Heritage Company, was found to be unable to effectively maintain and promote the Mandela House, with no board of directors. 

The Soweto Heritage Company falls under the Soweto Heritage Trust, a charitable trust created by Nelson Mandela. The primary role of the trust was the operation and promotion of the Mandela House.

The company became dysfunctional and was wound up in December 2016. Additionally, the Trust, like the Company, was found to be “rudderless” and unable to function effectively in the absence of a board of trustees.

An order to terminate the trust was granted in 2019. At the time of liquidation, the Museum said that there was no need to sell the house or its contents. 

The Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation stepped in to financially support the museum and negotiate with debtors to prevent the museum from closing.

The liquidators implemented controls to ensure the museum remains in good financial standing and continues to operate.

The liquidators promised that “every employee of Mandela House has, to date, received their full salary and employee benefits due to them, and will continue to do so until the process has been finalised.”

However, five years later, Soweto Tourism complained that the liquidation had still not been resolved by the Gauteng Premier, and the museum remains on life support without the leadership or funding to improve itself.

“More than five years since the issue was formally brought to the attention of the Premier’s Office, David Makhura, during the 5th administration, and now well into the 7th administration, Panyaza Lesufi, the matter remains unresolved,” the tourism body said.

“This inaction represents a grave failure in leadership, governance, and accountability.”

The organisation said that the museum has not delivered on its intended mandate and has not lived up to the expectations of the Soweto Heritage Trust and Nelson Mandela himself. 

Failure to live up to Mandela’s legacy 

Soweto Tourism added that the museum’s potential has been squandered by the Gauteng government’s inability to take decisive action and implement proper governance structures. 

“This inaction has far-reaching implications—not only for the legacy of Nelson Mandela but for the heritage and future of Soweto and South Africa as a whole.”

The organisation called on the Gauteng Premier to respond to these concerns and resolve the issue. 

Responding to Soweto tourism during a press briefing, the Gauteng executive council for Education, Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation outlined its plans for the museum. 

According to the council, a Memorandum of Understanding is being prepared to bring the museum under the management of Constitution Hill. 

Previously, the Mandela House was managed by the Apartheid Museum under its liquidation. “The house will be transferred to Constitution Hill, and then we’ll take it from there. So it’s a work in progress.”

Once the museum has been transferred, the city will be able to take the Mandela House over and support it properly.

Constitution Hill is a subsidiary of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency, the implementation arm of the Gauteng Department of Economic Development, charged with managing job creation and economic growth in Gauteng. 

The council made this statement to the media one month ago. Since then, Soweto Tourism told Newsday that it has made further attempts to engage directly with the department, but received no feedback.

“Of equal concern are the annual increases in entry fees at the museum, which have been implemented without transparent accountability from the liquidators,” Soweto Tourism said.

The organisation said this raises serious questions about the oversight within the Gauteng provincial Government. It called for a forensic audit into the financial and operational management of the museum under liquidation.

Newsday reached out to the Gauteng Department of Sport, Art, Culture, and Recreation to request an update on the museum, but did not receive a response by the time of publishing. 

Mandela family feuds over Houghton house

Since 2020, the Houghton house has fallen into disrepair due to being caught in a dispute between trustees of the Mandela Estate and family members, according to the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation. 

“It has been left unoccupied, and no maintenance has been done on the property – the garden is overgrown, the external wall is leaning, municipal rates are apparently in arrears, and the condition of the home’s interior is uncertain,” the foundation said last year.

The Gauteng provincial Government was considering funding the restoration of the house in 2024, but the Heritage Foundation advised against this, saying public funding shouldn’t be used to maintain private properties. 

Following this, Fleminger told Newsday that the Collen Mashawana Foundation stepped forward and offered to fund the repairs.

Collen Mashawana and his foundation have recently been linked to irregularities in the financial dealings of the Independent Development Trust (IDT) in investigations by the Daily Maverick.

This includes payments made toward a luxury house linked to suspended IDT CEO Tebogo Malaka, misuse of public funds, and unpaid wages for the Extended Public Works programme.

Plans for this restoration have not become concrete yet, allegedly due to a family dispute over the ownership of the house.

The Heritage Foundation met with the Mashawana Foundation and advised it to only proceed with renovations once the ownership dispute is resolved and a function of the house has been determined.

“There was no indication of the intended purpose of the renovations, nor whether the restored house would be accessible to the public in any way,” said Fleminger.

Since then, Fleminger said there have been no further engagements on the matter, but the renovation plans have not materialised.

“Given the tremendous heritage significance of both sites, the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation encourages all parties involved to find a way forward that will properly maintain and keep them open to visitors so that Nelson Mandela’s legacy may continue to inspire future generations.”