The businessman at the centre of the Nelson Mandela art furore said this week that he hoped the matter can be settled out of court, the Cape Times website reported on Tuesday
It quoted Ross Calder as saying: ”I will comply with Mr Mandela’s wishes.”
Calder said he had no intention of squaring up to Mandela in court.
Mandela has filed a lawsuit to stop his ex-lawyer Ismail Ayob and Calder ”pursuing a secret agenda” and selling millions of dollars of fake artwork portraying his prison years.
Mandela said Ayob ”has acted in a duplicitous and mala fide manner, leading me to believe that he would comply with my wishes and requests while pursuing a separate and secret agenda”.
The elder statesman, who turns 87 in July, said that ”having regard to my age … it is my wish that my personal assets and those in the trusts … are controlled and administered by persons of goodwill and highest integrity”.
He also wants the court to remove Ayob and his wife, Zamila, from their positions in the trusts associated with him and is demanding an audited account of the trusts and the artwork project.
Mandela claims he was tricked into signing a contract with Tinancier, a company owned by Ayob, and wants it to be set aside.
The contract, signed in 2001, transfers Mandela’s intellectual copyright to the company — but Mandela claims he was made aware of Tinancier’s existence only last month.
Cracks in his relationship with Ayob apparently appeared when Mandela wished to draw up a will, setting his financial affairs in order.
Mandela says in court papers that Ayob was reluctant to draw up the will. He then turned to his friend and legal adviser, George Bizos, SC.
Calder, who tried to strike a deal with Mandela’s lawyer before the case went to court, said he had spent Monday consulting his legal team.
”We’ve been pouring over documents, going through records and checking out figures in a bid to comply with their request,” said Calder.
”I have no reason not to comply. I’m working out my response and this whole ‘I’ll see you in court, Madiba’ thing was blown out of proportion. I will comply with Mr Mandela’s wishes.”
On May 12, Calder submitted his intention to oppose the action brought against him by Mandela — and had until Monday to file his answering affidavit.
He said, however, he had not yet lodged papers at the Johannesburg High Court because compiling a response would take time.
”Mandela has asked lots of questions, so we will have to supply lots of answers,” he said.
It is unclear whether Ayob has filed a notice of motion to oppose the allegations that Mandela has made against him. – Sapa