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Johannesburg — AbaThembu king Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo has told President Jacob Zuma to stay out of royal affairs, the Daily Dispatch reported yesterday. More than 200 AbaThembu senior traditional leaders gave him their support following a meeting at the weekend, the Eastern Cape daily reported.
It was called after Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Richard Baloyi had written a letter to the king after a group of concerned royal family members, led by Thanduxolo Mtirara, requested Zuma to dethrone Dalindyebo.
Baloyi instructed Dalindyebo to convene a meeting of all the Dlomo houses. “I cannot be told by Zuma and Baloyi to call a meeting of AmaDlomo. Who are they in the affairs of AmaDlomo?” Dalindyebo asked at the meeting on Saturday.
“No outsider will dictate terms on how I should handle my family matters. He can go to hell.”
One of the traditional leaders, Jonas Ndzambule, said: “Zuma is becoming a dictator. He must not be allowed to do as he pleases. This is not a banana republic.”
The meeting resolved to explore the possibility of interdicting Zuma to prevent him and his government from interfering. The Dispatch said the presidency could not be reached for comment. The Star newspaper reported that Dalindyebo used the opportunity to criticise Zuma again, calling him a “parasite”, a “Zulu boy from Nkandla” and a “nonsensical Zulu boy”.
Meanwhile, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela has reportedly laughed off a threat to remove his chieftaincy, labelling Dalindyebo “unstable” and “delusional”.
The king called for Mandla to be expelled as chief of Mvezo, saying over the weekend he had lost all respect for Mandla following his dispute with other members of the Mandela family over the reburial of the remains of three of Mandela’s children. He also claimed that Mandla was not the legitimate heir to the chieftaincy.
The Cape Times reported yesterday that Mandla had laughed off the threat, saying through a spokesperson that chiefs were sacked after due processes, rather than at a king’s whim. “You don’t just wake up one day and call a meeting of followers and make such a decision,” his spokesperson Freddy Pilusa said.
Meanwhile, CNN has denied reports that it has an arrangement with the Mandela family to broadcast former president Nelson Mandela’s eventual funeral.
“There is absolutely no truth to the allegation that CNN has bought the rights to the Mandela funeral,” it said in a statement yesterday.
“We would consider it inappropriate to discuss this issue in the current circumstances.”
A representative of CNN’s South African PR firm refused to elaborate further, telling News24 yesterday there was nothing to add to the statement.
CNN’s local bureau chief Kim Norgaard tweeted on Sunday: “Suggestions that funeral of Mandela has somehow been ‘sold’ to CNN are deeply offensive. It is not true. Our thoughts are with Madiba.”
The Sunday Independent reported over the weekend that Mandela’s daughter Makaziwe Mandela and her niece Ndileka held a sensitive meeting at the end of June with officials from the SABC and presidency over the funeral. The SABC is the official broadcaster.
According to the report, SABC officials said the Mandelas “demanded” that CNN be given “preferential” access and status to the funeral.
“We are aggrieved and understandably so. But there appears to be little we can do as the family appears to have their own plans,” an unnamed official said. “This wasn’t a request. It was a demand,” another official said. “The CNN deal seems to be done and dusted.”
Makaziwe Mandela refused to speak to the Sunday Independent about the alleged deal unless the officials who spoke to the newspaper were identified. In an interview with the SABC last month, she labelled the international media as “racist” and “vultures” over the media frenzy outside the hospital.— Sapa.
Online Reporter