As the controversial ex-wife of one of the world’s greatest statesmen, Madikizela-Mandela has made these allegations in an attempt to obtain Mandela’s Qunu property. It was placed under trust in Madiba’s will.
Madikizela-Mandela says not even their marriage could have been lawful. A copy of their marriage certificate indicates it was issued in the Republic of Transkei in June 1958. She says in her affidavit: “The certificate is clearly a fraudulent document and is quite obvious that [during] the divorce hearing the court was misled and the divorce order was obtained through fraud or misrepresentation.”
The Daily Dispatch says in its report that the Republic of Transkei did not exist in 1958 as independence was granted in 1976.
Madikizela-Mandela also claims that the signatures on the certificate belong to neither her nor her ex-husband. “Our marriage officer was reverend Gamndana and not GGK Madikiza,” as recorded on the certificate. A divorce decree seen by Daily Dispatch reporters reveals the marriage between the two was dissolved and that (Madikizela-Mandela) should pay the cost of that part of the trial, including the costs of the two legal counsels.
In her court papers, Madikizela-Mandela says the court never ordered the forfeiture of the Qunu property as they never engaged in any settlement negotiations on their properties. “Accordingly [Nelson Mandela] is not at liberty to dispose of our property at will. The divorce order makes it pertinently clear that the question of assets was never finalised.”
“I and [Mandela] had agreed to deal with issues of property at a later stage and, as it turned out, we never had the opportunity to do so. However, [Mandela] always knew that the Qunu property belonged to me.”
She claims the property as her own on the basis she allegedly acquired it in 1989 while Mandela was still in jail. Mandela had registered the property in his name in 1998, two years after he divorced Madikizela-Mandela. At the time Mandela was still state president.
Mandela’s ex-wife Graça Machel and President Jacob Zuma are among seven respondents in the application.
