The AmaQiya tribe, also known as the House of Hlanga, has lodged a claim to the kingship of the AbaThembu.
The tribe has dismissed the reigning AmaDlomo royal clan and King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo saying they originate from a lesser house.
The tribe said their forefather Hlanga was denied ascendancy to the throne more than 400 years ago when his father, King Nxego, was killed by his sons Dlomo and Ndungwana.
They believe the legitimate king of the AbaThembu is Chief Ngubesizwe Bacela, 64, the head of the AmaQiya.
Bacela is currently the chief of the Qiya Traditional Council which has 10 administrative areas and 10 headmen with 70 villages.
His great-great place is in Khwenxurha near Elliotdale.
Hlanga Royal House spokesman Chief Simphiwe Vulisango Pantshwa said they had lost the kingship in the 1600s or 1700s.
Hlanga, the eldest son of King Nxego, and his younger brother Dlomo were from the great house. They had another brother, Ndungwana, who came from a lesser house.
“When king Nxego was to hand over the reins to his heir Hlanga, Nxego was killed by Dlomo and Ndungwana,” Pantshwa said.
“After the killing of his father, Hlanga fled and settled between the Mbhashe and Kier rivers where he remained there as a lesser chief subordinate to Dlomo, a situation that still persists.”
He said that although the case was old and beyond the 1927 cut-off date for the commission to investigate, it could still win.
Their lawyers, Kwinana & Partners Inc, have written to the Commission on Traditional Leadership Dispute and Claims and government demanding the claims they submitted in 2008 be heard.
Bacela, as Hlanga’s heir and direct descendant, submitted the kingship claim to the Nhlapo Commission in 2008.
“The commission completed its investigation on the country’s para-mountcies and published a summary report which also deals with, inter alia, the AbaThembu kingship without having invited Chief Ngubesizwe Bacela to make representation nor a single mention of his claim in the report,” wrote lawyer Thabo Kwina-na.
If the commission refuses to hear them, they will take the matter to court.
The claim resurfaces as the commission is preparing to assist the AmaDlomo in identifying an acting king following Dalindyebo’s incarceration.
The commission, Presidency and Cogta could not be reached for comment. — lulamilef@dispatch.co.za
AmaQiya lodges claim to kingship
The tribe has dismissed the reigning AmaDlomo royal clan and King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo saying they originate from a lesser house.
The tribe said their forefather Hlanga was denied ascendancy to the throne more than 400 years ago when his father, King Nxego, was killed by his sons Dlomo and Ndungwana.
They believe the legitimate king of the AbaThembu is Chief Ngubesizwe Bacela, 64, the head of the AmaQiya.
Bacela is currently the chief of the Qiya Traditional Council which has 10 administrative areas and 10 headmen with 70 villages.
His great-great place is in Khwenxurha near Elliotdale.
Hlanga Royal House spokesman Chief Simphiwe Vulisango Pantshwa said they had lost the kingship in the 1600s or 1700s.
Hlanga, the eldest son of King Nxego, and his younger brother Dlomo were from the great house. They had another brother, Ndungwana, who came from a lesser house.
“When king Nxego was to hand over the reins to his heir Hlanga, Nxego was killed by Dlomo and Ndungwana,” Pantshwa said.
“After the killing of his father, Hlanga fled and settled between the Mbhashe and Kier rivers where he remained there as a lesser chief subordinate to Dlomo, a situation that still persists.”
He said that although the case was old and beyond the 1927 cut-off date for the commission to investigate, it could still win.
Their lawyers, Kwinana & Partners Inc, have written to the Commission on Traditional Leadership Dispute and Claims and government demanding the claims they submitted in 2008 be heard.
Bacela, as Hlanga’s heir and direct descendant, submitted the kingship claim to the Nhlapo Commission in 2008.
“The commission completed its investigation on the country’s para-mountcies and published a summary report which also deals with, inter alia, the AbaThembu kingship without having invited Chief Ngubesizwe Bacela to make representation nor a single mention of his claim in the report,” wrote lawyer Thabo Kwina-na.
If the commission refuses to hear them, they will take the matter to court.
The claim resurfaces as the commission is preparing to assist the AmaDlomo in identifying an acting king following Dalindyebo’s incarceration.
The commission, Presidency and Cogta could not be reached for comment. — lulamilef@dispatch.co.za
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