A SOUTH African tribal king who was given a lengthy jail term earlier this month for violent crimes has warned his government he plans to declare all his tribe’s land in the country an independent state.
The announcement was made yesterday by lawyer Votani Majola on behalf of Eastern Cape province King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, who was convicted of murder, kidnapping, arson and assault in October. He is a relative of former South African president Nelson Mandela.
According to his supporters, King Dalindyebo’s conviction was grounded in an act of persecution by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, which wants to replace him with another leader.
The charges against King Dalindyebo were linked to violence he committed against his subjects in the Tyhalara district in 1995, in which people were kidnapped and assaulted, and homes destroyed. One of those assaulted later died.
Following the violence King Dalindyebo was arrested and then released on bail. He apparently remained free until his trial began belatedly in 2004.
Giving his verdict in October, Judge Sytze Alkema of Mthatha high court said King Dalindyebo had been “self-righteous and contemptuous of the court”.
His defence that the community was responsible for the violence failed to hold up in court.
Mr Majola’s statement said the abaThembu, who are of the Xhosa nation and account for more than 15 per cent of the population, would “withdraw from the South African government” on January 6th to form an independent country if the conviction was not quashed.
He added that South African president Jacob Zuma had been informed of the decision, and had been asked to apologise to the abaThembu and pay them more than €7 billion in compensation for the humiliation of their monarch.
While the South African constitution says kings are predominately ceremonial figures who must by guided by the advice of provincial premiers, it is unclear what will happen if King Dalindyebo can rally his estimated 10 million subjects.
Mr Majola said abaThembu land in South Africa was significant, suggesting about 60 per cent of the country belonged to them.