King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has apparently lost control of traditional leaders who ignored his suggestion to abandon the three-day conference that was organised by the Ingonyama Trust Board without his approval.
The conference, which was organised to discuss land management and amakhosi’s role, started with drama on Monday when the king’s Traditional Prime Minister Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi came and informed amakhosi that the king and Land Reform Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso were unaware of the conference.
Buthelezi then read last year’s memorandum, which the king handed over to the minister during their first meeting.
In the memorandum, Buthelezi reminded amakhosi that the king had asked the minister to dissolve the board because it was appointed without his input and amakhosi.
Buthelezi also read out to amakhosi a letter of intention to suspend the board, which he said came from the minister.
He then asked amakhosi to debate among themselves and decide whether it was necessary to continue with a meeting, which both the minister and the king, as the sole trustee and the chairperson, were not informed about.
Amakhosi expressed concerns that the king and minister were unaware of the meeting, but 80% of them, according to the board, remained in the conference and stayed until Wednesday, which was the last day.
Those amakhosi that remained included the king’s royal council chairperson Inkosi Zuzifa Buthelezi, and KwaZulu-Natal House of Traditional Leaders, Inkosi Sifiso Shinga. Those who left said they did not want to be seen as defying the king’s authority by attending a meeting His Majesty did not know about.
In a media briefing on Wednesday, the vice chairperson of the board, Advocate Linda Nzama, and the acting Chief Executive Officer, Siyamdumisa Vilakazi, said they were happy that, besides the Monday drama, which was clearly intended to disrupt the conference, amakhosi remained and participated in the conference until the end.
“We are happy that we achieved what we wanted to achieve. On top of that, we managed to expose the political interference in the work of the board, which amakhosi understood. We are happy that 80% of amakhosi sided with us and fully participated in their conference, which was to discuss their role in the management of land. What happened on Monday was a clear political interference,” said Vilakazi.
Attempts to get the king’s spokesperson, Prince Thulani Zulu, were unsuccessful.
Regarding the suspension, Nzama said that the board heard about the letter of suspension for the first time and vowed that the board will challenge the suspension in court.
Nzama said the minister has no powers to suspend the board. She said in terms of the Ingonyama Trust Act, the minister can remove the board after assessing its performance.
“There is no word suspension in the Act, and even removing the board will require an extensive assessment of its performance, which has never happened. So we are going to court to stop the minister’s unlawful intention,” said Nzama
Attempts to get a comment from the ministry were also unsuccessful.
The eight-member board was appointed in 2022; however, it has been at loggerheads with King Misuzulu kaZwelithini, who is the trust’s sole trustee.
The king disbanded the board in December last year; however, the decision was reversed by Nyhontso, who argued that he alone had the power to dissolve the board and not the king.
On Monday, Nyhontso and Misuzulu appeared to have resolved their disagreement over the board, with both delegating Misuzulu’s Traditional Prime Minister Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi to read out a suspension letter of the board to traditional leaders (amakhosi).
In the letter, Nyhontso had argued that he felt the investigation of the board would not proceed well while still in office; therefore, he was considering placing them on special leave.
It’s unclear whether the 11-member commission, led by Advocate Marumo Moerane, will proceed with its work while still challenging its suspension.
The Ingonyama Trust Board was established by the KwaZulu-Natal Ingonyama Trust Act 3KZ of 1994 under the then KwaZulu Government. The trust manages close to three million hectares of land.
