Released Dalindyebo turns acting king away at gate

AbaThembu acting king Azenathi Zanelizwe Dalindyebo says he is prepared to hand over the reins to his father at any time — but King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo has not met or even talked with his son since his release on parole on December 22.

On December 23, when Azenathi went to greet his father at his private residence in Nkululekweni, he and his entourage were prevented from entering the premises by security guards.

Both the king's spokesperson, Prince Mthunzi Ngonyama, and Azenathi's spokesperson, Nkosi Thandisizwe Mtirara, confirmed it.

Azenathi was hardly three years old when his father committed the crimes he was charged with between 1995 and 1996. When his father went to jail in December 2015, Azenathi was 22.

Dalindyebo wanted someone else, possibly his wife Queen Nokwanda Dalindyebo, to act on his behalf.

But Azenathi said he was ready to hand over the reign “only to his father, not someone else”.

“We are tired of making national headlines on things that should have been dealt with privately by the family and resolved without public attention. We are striving for a peaceful nation of AbaThembu.

“As much as we want peace, sadly there are vultures out there who are waiting to grab any opportunity to cause havoc in our beloved nation. We have to cleanse ourselves from within before we can achieve this peace,” said Azenathi.

In the three years he had acted as king, he had  achieved “between 40 to 60% of peace and unity within the AbaThembu nation,” he said.

Azenathi said while he was celebrating the release of his father, it was “unfortunate that there are people who he said are trying create problems, lying that I have attempted to overthrow my father”.

“If we had any intentions to overthrow my father, King Zwelibanzi, we could have done that on the day of my inauguration as acting king.”

However, it does appear that not all is well between father and son. On the December 23 attempt at a visit it was Mtirara, together with four other traditional leaders who accompanied Azenathi to Nkululekweni, who were all turned away.

“Yes, I can confirm Azenathi was turned away without entering the gate. Remember, the king does not regard Azenathi as an acting king, as  he never had his blessing, said Ngonyama.

But Ngonyama said the king still had an interest in meeting Azenathi, not as the acting king but as his son.

“He will meet him when the time is right to do so,” said Ngonyama.