King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo.
Felix Dlangamandla, Netwerk24
AbaThembu king, the recently paroled Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, will remain on his throne, after the Mthatha High Court on Thursday dismissed an application by his 27-year-old son Azenathi to be reinstated as acting king, with costs.
Free State Acting Deputy Judge President Martha Mbhele on Thursday delivered the ruling, which followed an urgent bid by Azenathi Dalindyebo to overturn Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane’s decision to terminate his stint as acting king.
Azenathi was appointed as acting king for three years, after Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo was imprisoned for assault, kidnapping, arson and defeating the ends of justice committed during, what the Supreme Court of Appeal termed, a “reign of terror” committed during the 1990s.
READ | AbaThembu royals resolve to remove King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo – report
The former acting king notoriously stated that his acting position as king was “isonka sam” (my bread) – a comment Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo slammed as “crass” and said deserved a costs order being issued against him.
In his failed urgent application, Azenathi complained that, following his removal from the throne, he had lost his R50 000-a-month salary from the state, the white Jeep he was given for his transport needs, as well as his cellphone and petrol allowance.
Abathembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo and his son, acting king Azenathi Dalindyebo.
DNA test
Government opposed his bid to be reinstated, on the basis that Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo continued to hold a “certificate of recognition” as king and could only be removed from that position by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo has publicly questioned whether Azenathi Dalindyebo was, in fact, his son and has demanded that he undergo DNA tests to prove his paternity.
Buyelekhaya is currently facing charges of domestic violence laid against him by Azenathi in the Mthatha Magistrate’s Court, which he says are the result of “unfortunate events’ that played out on 13 May 2020 – when he sought to return to his place at the Bumbane Great Place but “found that I had been locked out”.
This is a developing story.
