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 been left unkept with parts of the structure falling apart.

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

It also appeared that some family members wanted the house to become a residential property and not a museum as envisioned by other family members.

Collen Mashawana Foundation stops renovations

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

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

“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.

Neighbours around Mandela’s house had already started complaining about the overgrown grass but Mcoyi said the grass had been cut and power had 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’s memory and would love to finish the work.

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

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

Despite the poor state of the Mandela house, patrons and those who have a deep love for Madiba 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 organization appealed to all parties involved to ensure that work on the property was completed.