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Nelson Mandela’s original arrest warrant was minted into an NFT and sold for 1.9 million rands ($130,550) to an online buyer based in the United Arab Emirates. The NFT was auctioned for the cause of funding a heritage site documenting South Africa’s struggle for democracy. In detail, the proceeds will go toward the Liliesleaf Museum Heritage Site which received the arrest warrant in 2004 as a donation.
The digital auctioneer – Momint’s – Chief Executive Officer Ahren Posthumus said that the proceeds will keep Liliesleaf museum afloat. “They have been badly affected by the lack of tourism due to COVID. So this is a way to revitalize their flow and keep history alive,” Posthumus added.
This is a remarkable outcome for Liliesleaf which, despite its national importance, has experienced significant financial constraints in recent years,
The original document dated 1961 is now yellowed, bearing staple holes on one side with gnarled edges, and is written in both English and Afrikaans. Nicholas Wolpe – Founder of Liliesleaf Farm Museum Heritage Site – said that the document has been in the site’s archives in Johannesburg since 2006.
Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s first Black president who was arrested in 1962 and spent 27 years in prison. Mandela was arrested for conspiring to overthrow the White-minority government. He was released from prison in 1990, and four years later the first multiracial election was held.
In 2021, the Liliesleaf museum received $50,000 from an auction of an NFT gun owned by Freedom Fighter Oliver Tambo.