Madikizela-Mandela estate feud deepens as Zondwa accused of ignoring court order

The long-running battle over the estate of anti-apartheid icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has escalated, with her grandson Zondwa Mandela accused of failing to comply with a Johannesburg high court order compelling him to file his heads of argument in a dispute over the executorship of her estate.

In a fresh application filed on September 28, Zenani Mandela-Dlamini’s attorney, Zayd Ismail Ayob, asks the court to enforce an order issued on June 10 directing Mandela to file his outstanding heads of argument within seven days.

Ayob argues that Zondwa Mandela’s failure to comply has prolonged litigation that began in January 2024, delaying the finalisation of the dispute and placing further pressure on the administration of the late struggle stalwart’s estate.

The application seeks an order providing for the possibility of Mandela-Dlamini asking the court to strike out his main application should he fail to comply. She is also seeking a punitive costs order against him.

The latest legal move adds another chapter to the family dispute, which has centred on who should oversee the winding up of Madikizela-Mandela’s estate and whether her assets are being properly administered.

In his affidavit, Ayob says the original application was launched by Mandela in January 2024, seeking, among other things, his aunt Mandela-Dlamini’s removal as co-executor and an interdict preventing her from taking steps to remove him from his position as co-executor of his grandmother’s estate. Mandela became co-executor in 2021 after his mother Zindzi Mandela’s death in 2020.

The dispute has since been complicated by delays in the exchange of court papers, with Mandela-Dlamini and her legal team arguing that Mandela has failed to take the necessary steps to bring the matter to a hearing.

According to Ayob, Mandela-Dlamini filed her answering affidavit in the main application out of time, but Mandela did not consent to the late filing. Mandela-Dlamini subsequently approached the court to regularise the filing of their papers.

That application was heard on February 17 2025, when judge Stuart Wilson granted an order condoning the late filing of her answering affidavit, with no order as to costs.

Ayob says Mandela subsequently failed to file his replying affidavit in his main application and did not take the necessary steps to prepare the matter for hearing.

The attorney points to the revised consolidated practice directive governing opposed motion proceedings, which requires the parties to file their heads of argument within the prescribed periods.

According to the affidavit, Mandela failed to file his heads of argument timeously, prompting Mandela-Dlamini to take further steps to move the matter forward.

By February this year, Mandela-Dlamini’s legal team had filed its heads of arguments and served them on Mandela’s attorneys. Ayob says he subsequently wrote to the attorneys representing Mandela, requesting that his heads of argument be filed, but received no positive outcome.

Mandela-Dlamini then launched an application to compel Mandela to file the outstanding papers.