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AbaThembu acting King Azenathi Zanelizwe ordered to vacate his office

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The Eastern Cape government has directed that AbaThembu acting King, Azenathi Zanelizwe Dalindyebo, vacate his office and also the Bumbane Great Place outside Mthatha, with immediate effect.

He was appointed to act as king three years ago, while his father, King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, was serving a jail term at the East London Correctional Facility for kidnapping, assault and defeating the ends of justice.

The Premier’s office has accordingly given Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs officials permission to collect all government resources in Azenathi’s possession including a vehicle, petrol cards and cell phones in accordance with the directive.

Dalindyebo demands DNA from children

In May, Dalindyebo asked all his children, including Azenathi, to undergo DNA tests to prove that they are indeed his children.

Dalindyebo has reportedly disowned Azenathi until he undergoes the test and has also requested Azenathi to vacate the Bumbane Great Place.

In March, after having been paroled from an East London prison, King Dalindyebo went on the rampage at the Bumbane Great Place, demanding that Azenathi leave.

Dalindyebo’s spokesperson, Prince Mthunzi Ngonyama, said Azenathi was the only child who refused to undergo DNA testing.

Dalindyebo arrested

In March, Dalindyebo was arrested at the Bumbane Great Place in Mthatha after he allegedly went on a rampage, attacking family members with pangas, bush knives and axes.

Azenathi was allegedly among those assaulted.

The acting King was central to conflict within the royal family, after the Dalindyebo’s incarceration in 2015.

He was appointed to this role after winning a court battle against his uncle Prince Mthandeni Mankunku Dalindyebo, over the abaThembu kingship.

The pair subsequently made peace in 2018.

Dalindyebo has accused government of fuelling divisions between himself and his son Prince Azenathi.

In the video below, spectators watch as a police van hauls away King Dalindyebo, outside the Bumbane Great Place:

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