Report: AbaThembu to announce Dalindyebo’s successor
A representative of the AbaThembu Royal Council says a successor to jailed king Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo has been chosen, it was reported on Sunday.
However, prince Phandulwazi Mhlontlo Dalindyebo would not give the successor’s name, the SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reported. This emerged after Saturday’s meeting at Bumbane Great Place outside Mthatha in the Eastern Cape.
Prince Phandulwazi Dalindyebo said Saturday’s meeting was a success. “There was a meeting with the sons and daughters of the king yesterday [Saturday] and we discussed about who is going to act in the absence of the king. The meeting was successful. The discussion of the name of the person of who is going to act is finalised,” the public broadcaster quoted him as having said.
On Thursday, AbaThembu royal family spokesman Daludumo Mtirara said the king’s incarceration meant that “the royal family must pick up the loose ends and take the kingdom of AbaThembu forward”.
The Mthatha High Court had ordered that Dalindyebo hand himself over on Wednesday following his conviction and sentence for crimes that date back to the 1990s.
Dalindyebo, who exhausted all legal appeals and who failed with a last-minute petition to the justice minister on Tuesday, has begun serving his 12-year sentence.
Correctional services spokesman Manelisi Wolela on Thursday confirmed the king reported for prison before midnight on Wednesday, in line with the court order.
Mtirara said on Thursday morning that the royal family had resolved on Wednesday night to schedule a meeting of the king Ngangelizwe royal family on Monday January 4, followed by a meeting of the greater Dlomo royal family on Tuesday, and a meeting of the AbaThembu nation on Friday.
All of these meetings, he noted, would be held at the royal residence in Bumbane in the Eastern Cape.
He added that the royal family “intends to rebuild its relation with the victims and their families”.
Mtirara said the royal family “would like to put it categorically that only king Ngangelizwe royal family members are expected to attend the first meeting on January 4, 2016”.
The royal family has appealed to the AbaThembu nation to “remain calm and allow the king Ngangelizwe royal family to direct and guide the nation in collaboration with the department of co-operative governance and traditional affairs”.
ANA
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