The ad hoc panel on the Vatsonga kingship claim is confident that it will meet its July 25 deadline to submit a report to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The panel was formed after the High Court in Pretoria ordered Corporative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, to set up a committee that would review Risimati Mkhari and the Mkhari Royal House’s claim to the throne.
The court also ruled that the President should make and pronounce a decision within eight months of the formation of the panel.
The Vatsonga kingship claim was the topic of discussion at the Giyani Town Hall since Tuesday. This as an ad-hoc panel, chaired by professor Jabulani Maphalala, reviewed the claim, as directed by the High Court in Pretoria.
Risimati Mkhari says his family’s kingship was downgraded by the colonial government in 1928. He says they are confident that their claim for restoration will be successful.
“As the Mkhari Royal Family, we have all the evidence to prove the existence of the VaTsonga kingship claim including the fact that we have senior traditional leaders and independent headmen who have been recognised by the state and members of the VaTsonga, in general, they are in support. In terms of what we have provided, if the panel were to conduct its work in a manner that is fair, objective, and impartial yes I can confirm that we are confident that victory is certain,” he adds.
Over the years, five claims were submitted before the Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims for the restoration of the kingship of the VaTsonga/MaChangana people. The claimants were the Nxumalo Royal House, the Mhinga Royal House, the Makhuva Royal House as well as two claims by conflicting factions of the Mkharhi Royal House. The commission then recommended to the President that all the claims be declined, and the president did so. The Nxumalo’s took the President to the Constitutional Court, which also ruled against them.
Several of the royal houses were also present at the Giyani hall during the course of this week, to state their cases yet again. Spokesperson of the Nxumalo Royal Council, Moke Mabunda, says it is disappointing to see the divisions that are within the Vatsonga people.
“It’s a disgrace that the nation Gaza is dived into two, Shangaans and Tsongas whereas at one stage we were one Gazankulu entity under one chief minister but now they divide themselves because of their ambitions to have a lot of kings, they took your wives and children you don’t fight, yet you want to be a king, no it’s a disgrace,” Mabunda says.
Chairperson of the ad hoc panel, Professor Jabulani Maphalala, says even though the court ruling had limited their work to reviewing just the Mkhari claim, they expanded their framework to listen to claims of other interested stakeholders.
“We listened to Mkhari because the court order said listen solely to Mkhari but on top of that we say what to VaTsonga stakeholders say, these are the people we have been presenting from the 11th up to the 14th,” he adds.
Maphalala says they are confident that they will meet their deadline.
“We must wind up everything before the 25th of July and the scientific report must be on President Ramaphosa’s table produced by us that is our time frame, on or before the 25th.”
The panel is now expected to review literature and other academic material before penning its findings.
Discussion on the Vatsonga-Machangana kingship:
