Johannesburg, South Africa - South Africa's government turned to the top court Tuesday in a bid to halt the auction in the US of objects belonging to Nelson Mandela, arguing they are part of the country's heritage.

The four-year legal battle involves 29 items – ranging from the anti-apartheid leader's identity card to some of his iconic shirts – listed for sale by a US auction house working with one of Mandela's daughters.

The government's heritage protection agency (SAHRA) and culture ministry asked the constitutional court to rule that the sale and export of the memorabilia would be illegal as they belonged in South Africa.

They argued the objects "are deemed to be heritage objects and their unpermitted export was unlawful," the court said in a summary.

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Initially advertised in 2021, the auction by the New York-based auction house, Guernsey's, was suspended in 2022 after SAHRA launched a bid to reclaim control over some of the items.

After South African judges gave the sale the green light, it was advertised in 2024 but then again put on hold as the government continued to try to block it.

The Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed SAHRA's objections in January, saying the heritage body "had to establish why each object was a heritage object," the summary said.

Mandela's eldest daughter, Makaziwe, had authorized the auction as a fundraiser for a memorial garden to be built next to her father's resting place in the village of Qunu.

Other objects are a key to the Robben island prison cell where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in jail, as well as clothing, writings, and gifts he received from US presidents including Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

Mandela was elected as first president of democratic South Africa in May 1994 and served in the role until June 1999. He died aged 95 in December 2013.