Judgment is expected to be handed down virtually in the case between Abathembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo and his son Prince Azenathi Dalindyebo on Thursday.
The case was heard in the Mthatha High Court on July 16, 2020 after Prince Azenathi’s lawyers made an urgent court application following his abrupt removal from the throne by Premier Oscar Mabuyane.
In a statement Mabuyane stripped Azenathi Dalindyebo off his acting kingship, government benefits and ordered him to vacate Bumbane Great Place before reinstating King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo to the throne.
The AmaDlomo Royal Family and Prince Azenathi are challenging what they deem to be the improper processes of reinstating King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo by Premier Oscar Mabuyane.
AbaThembu king Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo has asked all his children, including acting King Azenathi Dalindyebo , 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.
Infographic: Crimes King Dalindyebo committed
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, says Azenathi was the only child who refused to undergo DNA testing.
“The King has decided earlier this year, to conduct a DNA tests that will involve all his children, not only Azenathi. While he was still persuading [him] he got some tip off from someone that has some information that seems to be very detailed which proved what some of [the] suspicions that king had about his son. He was convinced that he is not his son but he has now said that if he wants to further verify this, Azenathi can go for a DNA test but there’s never been good cooperation from his [Azenathi’s] side,” explains Ngonyama.
In the video below, spectators watch as a police van hauls away King Dalindyebo, outside the Bumbane Great Place:
AbaThembu king Buyelekhaya 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.
His son Azenathi was allegedly among those assaulted.
The acting king was central to conflict within the royal family, after the king’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 the government of fueling divisions between himself and his son Prince Azenathi.
