Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi has dismissed suggestions that the Ingonyama Trust was set up as part of a deal that saw his party taking part in the 1994 elections.
He also says it’s also not true that the Trust serves as a cash cow for King Goodwill Zwelini of the AmaZulu.
This comes as debate rages around a recommendation of a high-level panel on land reform. The panel, which was chaired by former President Kgalema Motlanthe, has called for the Ingonyama Trust Act to be repealed. Buthelezi explains how the Ingonyama Trust Act came about.
“The only reasons why I came out with this legislation to put bit and pieces of the land that was actually left out when we were dispossessed of our kingdom was because our constitution recognizes the institution of traditional leadership, therefore the land would continue to be administered through indigenous and customary law. But actually it’s a distortion to even say that money goes to King Zwelithini because there’s a trust, the trust has got a board, it’s presided over by the judge of the high court, Justice Jerome Ngwenya.”
