Magnifique, a company headed by Nelson Mandela’s lawyer Ismail Ayob, does not have to pay back R13-million paid to it for rights and advance royalties to drawings by the former president, Ayob said on Tuesday.
Ayob said the liquidators of the Concept group, which had originally bought the rights, issued summons against Magnifique demanding return of the R13-million which had been paid by it for the rights to reproduce a series of drawings of human hands by Mandela.
It was agreed Concept would reproduce 5 000 copies of the sets of drawings within six months and that they would be sold for $5 000 a set.
However, when Concept’s holding company Union Alliance Media collapsed, Concept also folded. The plans to reproduce and sell the prints apparently fell by the wayside.
According to Ayob, the liquidators then issued a summons in an attempt to retrieve the money. He said although a High Court summons had originally been issued, both parties had agreed to settle the matter through arbitration.
Ayob said, ”At the Arbitration Foundation Board of South Africa hearing, senior counsel (for Concept) confessed they had no case.”
He said Judge Kumleiben gave judgement against the Concept group on Monday, day one of what was supposed to be a five day arbitration, in effect dismissing the action against Magnifique. Both parties agreed to pay their own costs.
Ayob is sole director of Magnifique and the Nelson Mandela Children’s’ Fund is one of the shareholders. – Sapa