Boxing champion belt given to Mandela stolen in South Africa

Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A World Boxing Council championship belt belonging to former South African President Nelson Mandela has been stolen from a museum in Soweto. The belt was given to Mandela by American boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard during one of his visits to South Africa. It was one of many artifacts inside the Nelson Mandela National Museum museum, a major tourist attraction for local and international travelers. Mandela, a former amateur boxer, revered the belt and it was prominently displayed in the museum in a house where he once lived in Soweto township, west of Johannesburg. Police spokeswoman Dimakatso Sello said that no suspects have been arrested and police have appealed for any information about the belt.