South Africa’s government asked the constitutional court on Tuesday to block an American auction house from selling Nelson Mandela’s possessions.

The heritage protection agency SAHRA and the culture ministry want the court to declare the sale illegal. They argue the 29 objects form part of South Africa’s national heritage.

The legal battle has lasted four years. Items range from Mandela’s identity document to his famous shirts. New York auction house Guernsey’s plans the sale with backing from one of Mandela’s daughters.

SAHRA says the objects qualify as heritage items under South African law. Exporting them without permission breaks the law, the agency argues.

Guernsey’s first advertised the auction in 2021. SAHRA suspended the sale in 2022 when it moved to reclaim some items.

South African judges later allowed the auction to continue. Guernsey’s advertised the sale again in 2024 but halted it after government lawyers continued the challenge.

The Supreme Court of Appeal rejected SAHRA’s objections in January. The court told the heritage body to prove why each object qualified as a heritage item.

But Makaziwe Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader’s eldest daughter, approved the auction. She wants to raise money for a memorial garden next to her father’s grave in Qunu village.

The collection includes a key to Mandela’s Robben Island prison cell, where he spent 18 of his 27 years behind bars. Other items include clothing, writings and gifts from American presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

South African voters elected Mandela as the country’s first democratic president in May 1994. He served until June 1999 and passed away in December 2013 at the age 95.

ALSO READ: Mandela Day – Curro Aurora celebrated Nelson Mandela’s life and legacy