The bitter legal battle over the estate of anti-apartheid icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has entered a decisive new phase after the Johannesburg high court ordered her grandson, Zondwa Gadaffi Mandela, to file his heads of argument within seven days or risk having his application dismissed.
In an order handed down on June 10, the court directed Mandela, the applicant in the main application, to deliver his written legal arguments within seven days from the date the order is served on him. Should he fail to do so, his aunt, Zenani Dlamini, will be entitled to return to court seeking an order dismissing his application.
While procedural in nature, the ruling ratchets up pressure in a family feud that has dragged on for years over who should control the administration of Madikizela-Mandelas estate, which remains unresolved more than eight years after her death.
