Mandela calls on handwriting pro

2005-06-17 08:25

Yvonne Beyers

Johannesburg - Former president Nelson Mandela's legal team apparently consulted a handwriting expert to bolster their case against Mandela's former legal representative, Ismail Ayob, and his business partner, Ross Calder.

Mandela's legal team apparently handed in another "thick stack of documents" to the Johannesburg High Court after they earlier filed more than 600 pages of court documents. A source who did not want to be named said the new court documents included a report from a handwriting expert and photographs of Mandela's signature.

The additional court documents apparently make up about 100 pages.

Advocate Bally Chuene, Mandela's legal representative, refused to say who had made these statements.

Mandela's legal team is expected to ask the court in August to dismiss Ayob and his wife, Zamila, from their posts as trustees of the Mandela Trust, the Nelson Mandela Trust and the NRM Family Trust and that the agreement in which the former president allegedly signed away his name and rights to Ayob in 2001 be declared null and void.

Mandela will also ask that Ayob and Calder be ordered to submit audited statements of their various companies to Mandela's legal team because they allegedly sold artworks with signatures on that weren't his.

Pietro Calicchio, Calder's legal advisor, was not available for comment.

- Beeld