No Mandela Day for Madiba mansion: Renovations to Houghton house stopped

Renovations to the Mandela House in Houghton have been halted following a family dispute over the mansion.

Earlier this year The Citizen reported that the Collen Mashawana Foundation would renovate the house after it was abandoned by its inhabitants.

The house was without electricity and had not been maintained, with parts of it falling apart.

Sources close to the family have told The Citizen that there is a dispute over the ownership of the house.

Some family members also reportedly wanted the house to become a residential property and not a museum as envisioned by other family members.

Renovations at Mandela House stopped

In an interview with The Citizen on Thursday, a representative of the Collen Mashawana Foundation, Ayanda Mcoyi said the foundation had begun to renovate the house but was told to halt the project.

“The project has been stopped for two months now. They have not indicated when we can go ahead, but we let them know that we are waiting on them,” Mcoyi said.

ALSO READ: Gauteng government to fund renovation of Mandela’s house after family abandons it

Neighbours around Mandela’s house had previously complained about the overgrown grass. Mcoyi said the grass has now been cut and power has been reconnected to the house.  

“We had used hundreds of thousands already with regard to cutting the grass, fixing the pool, providing water and electricity in the house, and we used our own Collen Mashawana funds,” she said.

Mcoyi said the foundation was doing the work in memory of Madiba and would love to be able to finish the work.

“We would love for the renovations to carry on. It’s not about the money, it’s about finishing the monumental building,” she said.

ALSO READ: Mandela family declines government’s offer to renovate late statesman’s Joburg mansion

Despite the poor state of the Mandela house, people continue to lay flowers outside the house where he spent his last years.

Heritage Foundation concerned

The Johannesburg Heritage Foundation (JHF) said it was concerned about the state of the Mandela mansion.

The organisation appealed to all parties involved to ensure that work on the property was completed.