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Court ruling allows sale of Mandela’s personal belongings

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A court has given go ahead for Mandela’s eldest daughter to sell off personal items, including one of his iconic floral shirts

The dismissed an appeal by the country’s heritage body to stop the sale and export of various artefacts connected to anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela.

The 70 personal items include a cell key from Robben Island, where Mandela was imprisoned for 18 of the 27 years he was locked up, a pair of Aviator sunglasses and one of his signature floral shirts. They were due to be exported to the US for auction.

The objects belong to his eldest daughter, Makaziwe Mandela and Christo Brand, a Robben Island warden during Mandela’s incarceration.

In trying to stop their sale, the authorities said they were part of the country’s heritage and were therefore legally protected from export.

The South African Heritage Resources Agency (Sahra) first found out about the potential sale in a British newspaper article from late 2021, claiming that the key would go for more than £1m ($1.35m).

The agency then wrote to the US auction house, Guernsey, that was planning the sale to ask it to suspend the auction and return the assets to South Africa.

Other items in the lot were a copy of the 1996 South African Constitution personally signed by Mandela, one of his charcoal drawings, an ID card, a tennis racquet he used on Robben Island and gifts from world leaders, including one from former US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.

Mandela’s daughter wanted to use the proceeds from the sale to build a memorial garden at the late former president’s grave in Qunu, in Mthatha, Eastern Cape province.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court of Appeal argued that Sahra’s interpretation of what items fell under the National Heritage Resources Act was overly broad.

The ruling also states that whereas Makaziwe and Brand explained in detail why their respective assets were not heritage objects, Sahra made no attempt to explain on what grounds it believed they were.

 

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Enugu State govt suspends monarch for hosting Peter Obi

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The Enugu State Government has suspended His Royal Majesty, Igwe Eze William Ezugwu, the traditional ruler of Ibagwa Ogbozalla Opi Autonomous Community, in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu state.

The state government accused Igwe Ezugwu of violating provisions of the state’s Traditional Rulers Law.

In a letter of suspension dated September 24, the Enugu State Government cited his alleged failure to constitute his cabinet, failure to establish a Town Union governing body, and persistent conduct deemed inconsistent with the laws governing traditional rulers in the state.

The suspension comes barely three weeks after Igwe William Ezugwu received NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi at his palace in Opi, Nsukka LGA, where he reportedly blessed Obi’s presidential ambition.

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Bandits ambush, kill Plateau state deputy commander, operation rainbow CSP Babale

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The Deputy Commander of Operation Rainbow, CSP (Chief Superintendent of Police) Dennis David Babale, has been killed after gunmen suspected to be Fulani Bandits ambushed personnel of the security outfit along the Bokkos-Barkin Ladi road in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State.

Operation Rainbow is a State-backed community security and intelligence-gathering outfit in Plateau State, Nigeria, originally established in 2010 under former Governor Jonah Jang and recently revamped by Governor Caleb Mutfwang to combat rural violence and beef up grassroots security.

The incident reportedly occurred at about 4:06 p.m. on Tuesday, September 22, 2026 when the personnel, travelling in a Toyota Hilux vehicle, came under attack by unidentified gunmen.

Troops of Sector 4, Operation ENDURING PEACE (OPEP), responded to a distress report and moved to the location of the attack.

Sources told reporters that Babale sustained gunshot wounds during the ambush and was evacuated to the General Hospital, Barkin Ladi, for medical attention.

Following the attack, troops, working alongside personnel of other security agencies, launched offensive operations and a manhunt for the assailants within the general area.

Security forces have intensified efforts to track the attackers and prevent further attacks along the route.

 

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What NiMet DG Anosike, others discussed at WMO dialogue in China

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Director General/CEO of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative at the World Meteorological Organization, Prof. Charles Anosike and other Chief Executive Officers of similar agencies across the world, have concluded a one week high level dialogue on Climate Science Information for Climate Finance and the 53rd Senior Official Field Exchange (SOFE) in Beijing, China.

The event which was hosted by World Meteorological Organization (WMO), took place from September 14 to 18, 2026 and featured discussions on: strengthening the role and leadership development of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in mobilizing climate finance; aligning scientific and technical capabilities with risk-informed, people-centred early warning systems; shifting from technical assistance to sustainable investments by expanding practical cooperation between meteorological frameworks and multilateral financing entities; and support to NMHSs leadership on strengthening strategic thinking and fostering productive partnerships.

Held back-to-back with the High-level dialogue was the 53rd Senior Official Field Exchange to Fujian Province for first-hand exposure to the implementation of Multi-hazard, Alert, Zero-gap and Universal (MAZU) platform – China’s AI-driven meteorological early warning solution in support of the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative and disaster risk reduction practices through technical exchanges, field visits and peer learning.

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