adminAuxilia Katongomara Chronicle Reporter
Eldest daughter of the late Chief Mvuthu Mlotshwa of Hwange district is suing the district administrator and her uncle for disqualifying her from becoming chief.
According to summons filed at the High Court yesterday, Silibaziso Mlotshwa, 21, said she is supposed to be appointed chief taking over from her late father because she is the eldest of her father’s three daughters.
Chief Mvuthu Mlotshwa died in 2014.
Silibaziso’s uncle, Saunders Mlotshwa, was appointed chief instead of her because she is a woman.
Mlotshwa contends that being a woman is not an impediment to becoming a chief anymore.
In the court papers, Silibaziso is the plaintiff while Hwange district administrator, Mlotshwa, Minister of Rural Development, Preservation of Culture and Heritage Abedinico Ncube and President Robert Mugabe were cited as the first, second, third and fourth defendants.
The heir apparent through her lawyer Nkosilathi Mlala of Sansole and Senda legal practitioners is seeking an order to declare null and void the appointment of Saunders as a substantive Chief Mvuthu.
In her summons, Silibaziso said following the death of her father in March 2014, the DA acting on discriminatory grounds and ill-conceived advice from unknown uncles and relatives appointed Saunders as the substantive Chief Mvuthu.
Silibaziso argues that the DA acted against provisions of the Nguni customs and norms as well as against clear provisions of Section 3 of the Traditional leaders Act.
“The late Chief Mvuthu Mlotshwa is survived by three daughters and the plaintiff is the eldest.
“The plaintiff was disqualified from being appointed a chief because she is a woman. This is despite the fact that being a woman is no longer an impediment in the Nguni culture and statutes for one to be appointed a chief,” read the papers.
Silibaziso argued that in KwaZulu-Natal where the Nguni originate, there are now many female chiefs who have undertaken tasks equally competently.
“Zimbabwe has a total of six female chiefs dotted around the country. Three of the female chiefs in Zimbabwe are of Nguni (Ndebele) origin that is Chief Sinqobile Mabhena of Umzingwane, Chief Ketso Mathe of Gwanda and Chief Nonhlanhla Sibanda of Insiza all from Matabeleland South province,” said Silibaziso.
She said the appointment of her uncle Saunders was an abomination to the Nguni culture because he had never lived in Hwange but spent most of his adult life in South Africa.
“His appointment is anti-people motivated by malice, greed, sexism, misogyny and hostile patriarchy which harks back to the centuries old tradition long overtaken by evolving Nguni culture and a new constitutional dispensation,” Silibaziso argued.
The Princess said since the death of her father Chief Mvuthu Mlotshwa, she had been fending for the whole family assuming duties as the head of the family.
“The plaintiff continues to act as paterfamilias (head of family) executing her duties diligently and with a sense of pride”.
Silibaziso said her late father was a progressive man who prepared her to assume the position of Chief as heir apparent and that she had remained a selfless person to the point of exploitation by her uncle and ‘so called relatives’.
She said she wanted the court to grant an order to the DA and Minister to ensure compliance with section 3 of the Traditional leaders Act.
The section emphasises that cultural norms should be followed in selecting a chief.
Silibaziso said: “In addition according to Section 56 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, women and men have the right to equal treatment, including the right to equal opportunities in political, economic, cultural and social spheres.”
The respondents have 10 days to oppose the application.
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