JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Dozens of paintings, a silver tea set and other items belonging to Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife Winnie will be auctioned next week to pay off debts she owes to a South African school.
The sale will happen at the home of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, a polarizing figure who was beloved by many for her role in the anti-apartheid struggle but was also involved in legal troubles over the years, including a kidnapping conviction in the early 1990s.
Madikizela-Mandela collects a salary as a member of parliament, and she is also a member of the national executive committee of the ruling African National Congress, the liberation movement that has led successive governments since the end of white racist rule in 1994.
She defaulted on a $2,150 payment to Abbotts College, which has several high school campuses in South Africa, according to South African media. A relative of Madikizela-Mandela had been studying at Abbotts.