AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo and his son, acting king Azenathi Dalindyebo.
- A gathering of 100 royals has resolved to remove AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo and replace him with his son, Prince Azenathi, according to a report.
- Buyelekhaya has described the imbizo and resolution as “illegitimate”, the report says.
- The feud between father and son dates back to 2016, when Azenathi went against his incarcerated father’s wishes and ascended to the throne.
Feuding in the AbaThembu royal family has continued, after an imbizo held at Bumbane Great Place near Mthatha saw royals resolving to remove Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo as king of AbaThembu, according to a report.
The gathering of around 100 royals resolved to replace Buyelekhaya with his son, Azenathi, according to Times Live.
Prince Azenathi has been acting as regent after his father was jailed in 2015 for arson, kidnapping, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and defeating the ends of justice. Those crimes were committed between 1995 and 1996 when he torched the properties of three locals and kidnapped a woman and several children.
This decision is set to be communicated to government on Monday, said royal family spokesperson chief Dumisani Mgudlwa.
‘Illegitimate’
However, Times Live reports that Buyelekhaya has described the imbizo as “illegitimate”, saying only he can convene such as a meeting by birthright and law.
The father and son battle dates back to 2016, when Azenathi went against his incarcerated father’s advice and ascended to the throne after obtaining the support of other great houses and the government.
READ | Dalindyebo blames govt for being throneless
The king wanted his wife to act on his behalf and had written a series of letters from prison advising the then-University of the Free State student Azenathi to focus on his studies instead. He had always maintained in his letters that, as a father, he cannot be a subject to his son.
Buyelekhaya has since called for a paternity test after denying he fathered Azenathi, via a text message to ex-wife and high court judge Buyiswa Majiki.
While supported by some factions within the kingdom, others believed the “old method” – by which father and son were “positively” linked by elders who noticed similarities in the way they looked, laughed and talked – proves paternity.
In early March, Buyelekhaya was charged with malicious damage to property and assault by threats after he had allegedly gone on the rampage at Bumbane Great Place in Mthatha. City Press reported that the king arrived at the Great Place at 02:00 on a Friday with an axe and started breaking furniture and throwing out clothes belonging to Azenathi.
On Monday, Azenathi briefly appeared in the Mthatha Magistrate’s Court on charges of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and pointing a firearm.
This came after he was arrested for allegedly attacking his father’s advisor, Babalo Papu, earlier this month.
His case is due back in court on 5 August.
– Compiled by Nicole McCain
