Priceless Nelson Mandela artwork swiped in Liverpool museum heist

A print of a sketch by the late anti-apartheid activist and President of South Africa Nelson Mandela has been stolen in a brazen heist in Liverpool, police have revealed. Gifted to the Liverpool charity Mandela8 in 2018 by his daughter Dr Makaziwi Mandela, the artwork was taken from St George's Hall a few hours before it opened to visitors on October 13.

Merseyside Police has now released CCTV images of a man leaving the Victorian-era venue shortly after 7.45am and said officers want to speak to him about the theft. Named "Imprisonment", the sketch features two hands tied together and also features Mandela's signature and was being displayed in the Mandela Room at St George's Hall.

Despite being a copy, the print was rare and would have value as it was a copy of a sketch from the former South African president's "Struggle" series, with a limited number of copies made and held by various organisations.

The frame, which was left at the venue, was damaged during the theft, detectives said.

Merseyside Police appealed for information about the heist and said they had conducted a forensic examination of the scene and analysed CCTV footage.

Detective Inspector Paula Jones said: "We are taking this theft extremely seriously, and have conducted extensive enquiries to establish what happened and to identify the offender.

"This print was a highly valued addition to the Mandela Room at St George's Hall, and anyone who has visited since it was gifted in 2018 will have seen the powerful image.

"It had been gifted to the Liverpool-based Mandela8 organisation that year by Dr Makaziwi Mandela, a daughter of Nelson Mandela.

"It shows a pair of hands bound, above the word imprisonment and Nelson Mandela's signature.

"We would urge anyone with any information on this incident or anyone who has seen the art work since it was taken on 13 October to contact us as soon as possible."

While Sonia Bassey, chair of Mandela8, has since described the shock theft as completely "heartbreaking".

She added: "It means so much to us in that it was gifted to us by Nelson Mandela's daughter when we went to South Africa."

Mandela spearheaded the country's struggle against the apartheid system of racial segregation and spent more than 27 years in jail during white-minority rule.

Ms Bassey said: "We don't even care if it's anonymously, we would like the artwork back."

Nelson Mandela, who died in 2013 at the age of 95, led South Africa's transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison for his political activities.

Born in 1918, he joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1943, as a law student.

He and other ANC leaders campaigned against apartheid initially peacefully, but in the 1960s the ANC began to advocate violence, and Mr Mandela was made the commander of its armed wing.

He was arrested for sabotage and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964, serving most of his sentence on Robben Island.

He was released in 1990 as South Africa began to move away from strict racial segregation - a process completed by the first multi-racial elections in 1994.

Mr Mandela, who had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, was elected South Africa's first black president. He served a single term, stepping down in 1999.

He was rarely seen in public since officially retiring in 2004. He made his last public appearance in 2010, at the football World Cup in South Africa.