Royals still to decide on new Thembu king

ABATHEMBU royals are yet to decide on who will ascend the throne after the incarceration of King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo. Two factions held meetings on Sunday, while another group held its meeting for the houses of King Ngangelizwe, Dalindyebo’s grandfather. This group, which is led by the Mtirara brothers – Thanduxolo and Daludumo – met at Bumbane Great Place near Mthatha yesterday. On the agenda was the withdrawal of Dalindyebo’s kingship recognition certificate, the nomination of an acting king and other matters involving access control to the Great Place as well as efforts to reconcile with Dalindyebo’s victims. The group was unable to make a decision on who they believe should take over the reins. “Although we aimed to resolve the appointment of the acting king, we could not do so because there were two or three houses of King Ngangelizwe who did not attend the meeting,” Daludumo said. The meeting was postponed to a date yet to be confirmed.

Chief Mfundo Mtirara and Chief Zwelodumo Mtirara, representatives of some of the houses of King Ngangelizwe, were absent yesterday. Both traditional leaders are known to have supported Dalindyebo and were part of a group of royal family members who, in October, nominated Prince Azenathi Dalindyebo to act as king. Daludumo was part of the group that met Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Fikile Xasa in Mthatha, where it was confirmed Dalindyebo had been stripped of his certificate of recognition as leader of the abaThembu nation. Daludumo said yesterday that due to the chaos in the kingdom they had decided that the acting person would serve for five years with the option of renewal. “We want all heads to cool down, the royal family to be united and the environment to be conducive for custom. “We therefore do not want to rush to nominate a successor, hence we talk of an acting person who will normalise the situation,” he said. It is understood that Dalindyebo’s wife, Queen Nokwanda Dalindyebo, may also be considered to act by some of Dalindyebo’s siblings “We are going to write to the national Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Department to give us an external facilitator to drive the process,” Daludumo said.