BBC News
December 25, 2021
South Africa has demanded a halt to an auction of the key to the prison cell on Robben Island once occupied by former President Nelson Mandela.
The sale is due in January in New York by Guernsey’s auction house. The seller is Christo Brand, Mandela’s former prison guard in the notorious jail.
But Nathi Mthethwa, South Africa’s culture minister, said there had been no consultation with the government.
“This key belongs to the people of South Africa,” he said.
“It is not anyone’s personal belonging,” the minister added.