Mandela’s old law offices at high risk of hijacking - JHF
The Johannesburg Heritage Foundation is concerned about the potential hijacking of this significant building.
Nelson Mandela's old law offices at Chancellor House in Johannesburg. Picture: supplied
John Perlman speaks to David Fleminger, Johannesburg Heritage Foundation (JHF) spokesperson.
Listen to the interview in the audio below.
The hijacking of abandoned buildings is a significant problem in the Johannesburg CBD.
The Johannesburg Heritage Foundation (JHF) has raised concerns that yet another building could soon be hijacked by homeless people if the City does not put it to good use.
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Chancellor House, which is next to the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court, is the building where Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo operated as attorneys before Tambo was exiled and Mandela sent to prison.
The three-storey building is lying empty, and a number of homeless people are sleeping near its doors.
Fleminger says that this building was bought by private property owners, and it fell to ruin.
It was taken over by the City and restored, but it has not managed to get a single tenant since this process was finished in 2011.
“An empty building is a building at risk.”
- David Fleminger, Spokesperson for the JHF
“What is a potentially important tourism and heritage site is now considered unsafe.”
- David Fleminger, Spokesperson for the JHF