Who We Are
We are the proud progeny of the Royal House of Mandela, an African family dedicated to the preservation of our history, culture and family. Our history, culture and family values are closely linked with the life and times of Africa, her people, resilience, compassion and courage.
The Mandela name is one of heritage, strong values and royalty. The Mandelas are the descendants of a royal bloodline that dates back to the 18th century when Thembu Land was part of the royal kingdom of the Eastern Cape. Our legacy can be traced back to King Ngubengcuka, the king of the Thembus; tracing back to a small village in the Eastern Cape, where the great Chief Mphakanyiswa of Mvezo and father to Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ruled.
Our history is steeped in tradition, family values and a strong sense of community. We are proud of our heritage and believe that only when we understand and appreciate where we come from is it possible to achieve a state of enlightenment and progress in our journey through life.
Dr. Makaziwe
(Maki) Mandela
DR. Makaziwe (MAKI) Mandela was born in Johannesburg, South Africa on the 1st of March 1954. She grew up in Soweto, Johannesburg and is the eldest daughter of Evelyn Mase and Nelson Mandela.
After matriculating from High School in Swaziland, she went on to study for her BA degree in Social Work at Fort Hare University in the Eastern Cape, and then her Honours Degree in Sociology at the University of Natal in Durban.
In 1984, she received a Fulbright Foreign Scholarship and a Fulbright Distinguished Fellowship Award to study at the University of Massachusetts in the US for a Masters in Sociology and a Doctorate in Anthropology.
She has had a full and chequered career that has involved working in several other countries, and holds directorships in Nestlé SA among others. She has presented numerous papers over the years, including the role of women in a changing South Africa. She has been intricately involved in developing a substantial investment portfolio within Nozala, a womens investment group, and using these funds in the economic upliftment and empowerment of women in South Africa.
She has worked for a number of academic institutions in South Africa and abroad. She spent a number of years working for the Development Bank of Southern Africa as Executive Manager Corporate Services. Prior to that, she worked for Spoornet as General Manager Human Resources.
Dr. Makaziwe Mandela previously sat on the Boards of Rand Water Services, Myriad Medical, Envirosev and the Nelson Mandela Foundation. She is also a consultant in training development and life skills at Self Empowerment International. Dr. Mandela is currently the Chairman of House of Mandela, a business that she started with her daughter Tukwini Mandela in 2010.
Tukwini Mandela
While her mother was away studying at university, Tukwini, along with her siblings and many cousins, was raised by her grandmother Evelyn until the age of 10. In 1985, shortly before her 11th birthday, she moved with her mother, father and siblings to the US as her parents had received scholarships to further their studies.
The US proved to be quite an experience for Tukwini and her brother Dumani, as they spoke no English at all. In six months however, they were old pros. After matriculating from Amherst High School, Tukwini joined her mother in Kenya and lived there for six months.
She finally returned home to South Africa in 1994 where she obtained her degree in Social Work at Wits University, and a certificate in Account Management from the AAA School of Advertising. She went on to work for two advertising agencies, Leo Burnett and Foote Cone and Belding, where she managed accounts such as Coca-Cola, Procter and Gamble, Sasol and Kellogg’s.
Tukwini then joined First National Bank, one of South Africa’s largest retail banks, as a Communications Consultant in the Advertising Unit where she consulted internal clients on marketing and communication strategies, project management, management of budgets, development of advertising campaigns and the development of the Advertising Department’s operating processes.
Tukwini moved on to work for RMB Private Bank as a marketing consultant, Nortel Networks (UK) as a Marketing Specialist for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Absa as the Head of Marketing for Absa Wealth and Private Bank. While in the UK, she studied at the London College of Fashion. She is currently the Marketing Director for House of Mandela, a business that she runs with her mother Dr. Makaziwe Mandela.
Tukwini Mandela was born in the Eastern Cape in December 1974. She is the oldest child of Dr. Makaziwe Mandela and has three siblings Dumani, Kweku and Adjoa.
Kweku Mandela
His company Out Of Africa Entertainment is one of the largest film and Television production companies in Africa having recently completed production on Madiba , Maze Runner 3 and The Red Sea Diving Resort.
Kweku Executive Produced acclaimed Novel “The Bang Bang Club” into a feature film, which was released in early 2011. Kweku is currently a partner in two new production companies one being Romulus Entertainment a production finance outfit based in New York and two Dang Entertainment a partnership between Kweku and his long-time collaborator Nabil Elderkin based in LA.
In mid-2009 he co-founded Africa Rising Foundation with his cousin Ndaba Mandela and their dream of changing Africa’s image and fostering young leadership and partnerships around the world was started. He supports the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety and the Long Short Walk, a world walk for road safety, in memory of his 13-year old cousin Zenani Mandela who was killed in a crash 2 years ago.
He’s also on the board of Global Citizen , Pioneer Works and Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project and a Trustee of House of Mandela.
Kweku latest projects include producing Margot Robbie film Dreamland and Christopher Waltz directorial debut Georgetown along with starting GenEndIt with Charlize Theron a collective of HIV/AIDS organisation committed to seeing the end of AIDS in our lifetime.
Kweku Mandela was born in the Transkei, South Africa, and grew up in America, returning to his homeland in 1993. He is a South African Filmmaker who is a active producer in a number of films and TV projects around the world.
