Mangosuthu Buthelezi has withdrawn his threat to resign as traditional prime minister to King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini and will sign an affidavit backing the monarch’s ascension to the throne in a high court challenge set down for Wednesday.
(Photo by Darren Stewart/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
Mangosuthu Buthelezi has withdrawn his threat to resign as traditional prime minister to King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini and will sign an affidavit backing the monarch’s ascension to the throne in a high court challenge set down for Wednesday.
Buthelezi made the threat to stand down and to withdraw his affidavit backing the king in the court battle with Prince Simakhade during a lengthy and emotionally charged address to amakhosi in Richards Bay on Friday.
Buthelezi made the threats over the king’s decision to remove Jerome Ngwenya as the Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB) chairperson and replace him with Thanduyise Mzimela, a decision which Buthelezi had opposed.
But, on Monday, Buthelezi’s spokesperson, Liezl van der Merwe, said that “nothing has changed” regarding the Inkatha Freedom Party president emeritus’s status as traditional prime minister.
“He remains in his position,” Van der Merwe said.
In his address to amakhosi, Buthelezi had accused the king of being “captured” and that the monarch was “willing, even, to risk his own reign to keep Inkosi Mzimela” by refusing to heed his advice to leave Ngwenya — who has been in the post for 20 years — in place.
Buthelezi said the king was “making it impossible for me to continue to serve” by declining to take his advice on the matter and that this might force him to stand down.
Buthelezi told amakhosi that he had told the king “I could not sign” the affidavit backing him for the upcoming court case “when my role and position with the king was so unclear”.
“I requested clarity on the king’s approach to my advice on the Ingonyama Trust Board, because, after all my work, I cannot stand by and allow the land of the Zulu kingdom to be sold,” he said.
Despite this, Van der Merwe said Buthelezi would continue supporting the king, as endorsed by Friday’s meeting of amakhosi.
“He was asked to sign the affidavit and to continue supporting his majesty, which he has agreed to do,” Van der Merwe said.
Buthelezi’s act of brinkmanship comes after the Zulu king removed Ngwenya weeks after the Mail & Guardian exposed a questionable R14 million investment by Ingonyama Holdings, which was set up as an investment company with Ngwenya and former ITB chief executive Lucas Mkhwanazi as directors.
The money invested by Ingonyama Holdings was moved from the coffers of the Ingonyama Trust, set up in 1994 to administer traditionally controlled land in KwaZulu-Natal on behalf of the Zulu king, to an investment company which promised R2 billion in investments. The ITB acts on the trust’s behalf, and is funded by the agriculture and land reform department and collects levies for mineral rights and commercial and agriculture leases.
But after the payments were made on behalf of Ingonyama Holdings, a dispute was declared between it and the investment company, AIN Private Capital, which had not delivered on its promises.
The king, who wants the ITB’s operations and finances to be open to public scrutiny, ordered Ngwenya to publicly account for the transactions and removed him from the post shortly afterwards.
The monarch then appointed Mzimela as his nominee, sparking a pushback from Buthelezi and Ngwenya, who had also taken on review at court the decision to appoint a new board by Agriculture and Land Reform Minister Thoko Didiza.
Last week Didiza appointed a full ITB board, with lawyer Linda Zama as deputy chairperson and Mzimela as the chairperson and royal nominee, despite the opposition from Buthelezi and Ngwenya.
The board is understood to have held an introductory meeting and decided to appoint a forensic audit into the ITB, the trust and Ingonyama Holdings as the first step to regularising their finances.
On Monday, Didiza said through her spokesperson, Reggie Ngcobo, that she “noted” the meeting convened by Buthelez “with amakhosi on matters including that of Ingonyama Trust”.
“The minister wishes to clarify once again that all processes in accordance with the law were followed in the appointment of the Ingonyama Trust Board. Necessary consultations as directed by the Ingonyama Trust Act were undertaken. These include consultation with the premier, the chairperson of the house of traditional leaders of KwaZulu-Natal and iSilo [the king].
“iSilo then nominated his nominee as the law allows and wrote a letter to the minister to inform her accordingly,” Ngcobo added.