Abathembu royals have yet to decide on who will ascend to the throne after the jailing of King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo.
Two factions met on Sunday while another group held its meeting for the houses of King Ngangelizwe, Dalindyebo’s great great grandfather.
The latter group, 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.
Despite meeting behind locked doors for hours, the group was unable to decide who should take over the kingship.
“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 today.
“This decision is supposed to be taken involving all the affected houses,” said Daludumo.
The meeting was then postponed to a date yet to be confirmed.
Chief Mfundo Mtirara and Chief Zwelodumo Mtirara, representatives of some 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 at the Mthatha Garden Court, where it was confirmed Dalindyebo had been stripped of his certificate of recognition as leader of the AbaThembu nation.
Daludumo yesterday said due to chaos in the kingdom and instability within the royal family and ruling clan of AmaDlomo, they had decided a regent would act 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.”
It is understood that Dalindyebo’s wife, Queen Nokwanda Dalindyebo, may also be considered to act by some of Dalindyebo’s siblings, who are not part of this group.
However, when approached for comment on the matter, Daludumo declined.
This group had earlier in 2014 indicated they wanted Dalindyebo’s brother Prince Mthandeni Mankunku Dalindyebo to be the successor.
But yesterday they said names of acting kings and successors had yet to be debated.
“We are going to write to the national Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Department to give us an external facilitator to drive the process,” said Daludumo.
No decision yet on AbaThembu acting king
Two factions met on Sunday while another group held its meeting for the houses of King Ngangelizwe, Dalindyebo’s great great grandfather.
The latter group, 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.
Despite meeting behind locked doors for hours, the group was unable to decide who should take over the kingship.
“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 today.
“This decision is supposed to be taken involving all the affected houses,” said Daludumo.
The meeting was then postponed to a date yet to be confirmed.
Chief Mfundo Mtirara and Chief Zwelodumo Mtirara, representatives of some 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 at the Mthatha Garden Court, where it was confirmed Dalindyebo had been stripped of his certificate of recognition as leader of the AbaThembu nation.
Daludumo yesterday said due to chaos in the kingdom and instability within the royal family and ruling clan of AmaDlomo, they had decided a regent would act 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.”
It is understood that Dalindyebo’s wife, Queen Nokwanda Dalindyebo, may also be considered to act by some of Dalindyebo’s siblings, who are not part of this group.
However, when approached for comment on the matter, Daludumo declined.
This group had earlier in 2014 indicated they wanted Dalindyebo’s brother Prince Mthandeni Mankunku Dalindyebo to be the successor.
But yesterday they said names of acting kings and successors had yet to be debated.
“We are going to write to the national Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Department to give us an external facilitator to drive the process,” said Daludumo.
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