Nelson Mandela's daughters Makaziwe (C) and Zenani Mandela-Dlamini (R) arrive at the Medi Clinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria on June 16, 2013. A date for a court battle involving the control of Mandela's companies has been set for July 29, the South African public broadcaster reported on Thursday. (AFP)
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – A date for a court battle involving the control of the ailing Nelson Mandela's companies has been set for July 29, the South African public broadcaster reported on Thursday.
In April, Mandela's two daughters Makaziwe and Zenani Mandela-Dlamini and several of his grandchildren filed papers asking the Johannesburg high court to remove the directors of three companies formed by Mandela, alleging that they were not properly appointed.
The trustees are Mandela's old friend and human rights lawyer George Bizos, Tokyo Sexwale, a former cabinet minister, and his ex-lawyer Bally Chuene.
According to an SABC television news report, "The case will be heard on July 29."
The companies, Harmonieux Investment Holdings and Magnifique Investment Holding were set up to channel proceeds from the sale of Mandela's iconic handprint, for his benefit and family.
The prized handprints were produced between 2003 and 2005 and were snapped up by international celebrities.
According to media reports, the trust companies are estimated to be worth over $1.7 million.
The three men have maintained that Mandela had explicitly asked them to help manage that portion of his estate.
The case is a second legal battle involving the Mandela family this month. The family was last week embroiled in a legal spat over the reburial of three of the icon's children.
More than a dozen Mandela family members sought an urgent interdict forcing the icon's eldest grandson Mandla to return their remains from Mvezo village to Qunu, where they were exhumed two years ago.
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