The King Ngangelizwe royal family says it will await the outcome of its former king’s appeal to the Constitutional Court to have a conviction overturned before resuming succession discussions.
Former AbaThembu king Zwelibanzi Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo has decided to turn to the Constitutional Court after the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein on Thursday rejected his application to overturn a conviction in the Mthatha High Court in 2010 for arson‚ assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm‚ culpable homicide and defeating the ends of justice‚ among other crimes.
He was originally sentenced to an effective 15 years in prison‚ but this was reduced to 12 years by the SCA.
In a statement on Sunday‚ the AbaThembu royal family said: “It is over twenty years that the Kingdom of AbaThembu has been going through a progressing decline as a result of legal battles that the former king of AbaThembu‚ Zwelibanzi Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo‚ had been associated with. The institution came to a standstill because of his lack of focus on the affairs of the kingdom.
“The legal battles of the former king made him source anything that he could find appropriate to use as a springboard to avoid taking responsibility for his actions. The institution has no legal battles. However‚ the former king who is an individual which the royal family placed on the throne in the early nineties‚ continues to fail in separating personal legal battles from the institution. It was as a result of his inability to put the interest of the kingdom first that the royal family decided to distance itself from all unethical conduct that he was and is still associated with.
“We continue to welcome the judgment handed down in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein on Thursday. We further continue to distance ourselves from his legal battles. We heard his intention to appeal the decision of the SCA. We will wait for the outcome of his appeal from the constitutional court. We decided to postpone the King Ngangelizwe Royal Family meeting which was planned to review the situation. His intention to appeal the decision of the SCA made the royal family to suspend all discussions on succession and all other matters related to the kingdom‚ which require King Ngangelizwe Royal Family sitting.”
The family urged the AbaThembu nation and South African public to allow the legal process to be finalised‚ and once finalised‚ to allow the family to finalise its internal proceedings.
It added that Nkosi Thanduxolo Mtirara was the most senior elder of the Great House and should be consulted on matters affecting the kingdom of AbaThembu.
Discussions on successor to former AbaThembu king on hold pending concourt appeal
The King Ngangelizwe royal family says it will await the outcome of its former king’s appeal to the Constitutional Court to have a conviction overturned before resuming succession discussions.
Former AbaThembu king Zwelibanzi Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo has decided to turn to the Constitutional Court after the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein on Thursday rejected his application to overturn a conviction in the Mthatha High Court in 2010 for arson‚ assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm‚ culpable homicide and defeating the ends of justice‚ among other crimes.
He was originally sentenced to an effective 15 years in prison‚ but this was reduced to 12 years by the SCA.
In a statement on Sunday‚ the AbaThembu royal family said: “It is over twenty years that the Kingdom of AbaThembu has been going through a progressing decline as a result of legal battles that the former king of AbaThembu‚ Zwelibanzi Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo‚ had been associated with. The institution came to a standstill because of his lack of focus on the affairs of the kingdom.
“The legal battles of the former king made him source anything that he could find appropriate to use as a springboard to avoid taking responsibility for his actions. The institution has no legal battles. However‚ the former king who is an individual which the royal family placed on the throne in the early nineties‚ continues to fail in separating personal legal battles from the institution. It was as a result of his inability to put the interest of the kingdom first that the royal family decided to distance itself from all unethical conduct that he was and is still associated with.
“We continue to welcome the judgment handed down in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein on Thursday. We further continue to distance ourselves from his legal battles. We heard his intention to appeal the decision of the SCA. We will wait for the outcome of his appeal from the constitutional court. We decided to postpone the King Ngangelizwe Royal Family meeting which was planned to review the situation. His intention to appeal the decision of the SCA made the royal family to suspend all discussions on succession and all other matters related to the kingdom‚ which require King Ngangelizwe Royal Family sitting.”
The family urged the AbaThembu nation and South African public to allow the legal process to be finalised‚ and once finalised‚ to allow the family to finalise its internal proceedings.
It added that Nkosi Thanduxolo Mtirara was the most senior elder of the Great House and should be consulted on matters affecting the kingdom of AbaThembu.
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