MisuZulu kaZwelithini. Photo: Darren Stewart/Gallo Images
The Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB) is considering withdrawing the appeal against the high court ruling setting aside its residential lease programme, which was lodged at the supreme court of appeal by its former chairperson.
The board is also in the process of clearing the backlog of commercial leases, which had not been processed since 2022 and which, although they are not affected by the court ruling, had also been put on hold.
The appeal was brought by former chairperson Jerome Ngwenya in May 2022 after the Pietermaritzburg high court set aside the residential lease programme, introduced in 2012 by the ITB.
It delayed the payout of millions of rands to residents of land under the ITB, which controls nearly three million hectares of traditionally administered land in KwaZulu-Natal on behalf of the Zulu king.
Two sources at the ITB told the Mail & Guardian this week that the new board appointed earlier this year by the agriculture, land reform and rural development minister, Thoko Didiza, had met to “review” the decision to appeal the ruling.
The challenge to the residential leases was brought by residents supported by the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution and the Rural Women’s Movement.
The court set aside the leases and ordered that residents’ permission to occupy certificates be reinstated, and that all revenue collected from them be refunded.
Didiza was ordered to create the infrastructure to carry out the conversions, as well as develop guidelines for land allocation, along with a process for providing people on trust land with deeds of title.
Didiza did so, setting aside an initial budget of R39 million to fund the process, but was prevented from implementing the plan because of the existence of the court appeal.
“There was a feeling that the fully constituted board should review the decision to bring the appeal. The board has held some discussions, and will be discussing the matter further,” one of the sources said.
“There was no board in place when the decision was taken, so it is important that the fully constituted board now give the matter the proper consideration.”
Didiza has since then appointed a full board, and King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has recalled Ngwenya, who was appointed by his father, the late king Goodwill Zwelithini
kaBhekuzulu, as his nominee.
Misuzulu removed Ngwenya in March, weeks after the M&G exposed a dubious R41 million investment made through Ingonyama Holdings in 2021, and replaced him with Thanduyise Mzimela, who is now chairperson.
The source said the review process could result in the appeal being withdrawn.
“The decision to lodge the appeal was taken by one person. The review by a fully constituted board may result in this being reversed,” the source said.
The body is also in the process of reviewing the future of Ingonyama Holdings, an investment vehicle set up in 2019 with Ngwenya and former ITB chief executive Lucas Mkhwanazi as directors.
It has written to Ngwenya requesting that he meet Mzimela and three other board members to discuss the future of Ingonyama Holdings, its finances and the removal of himself and Mkhwanazi as directors.
Earlier this year, ITB acting chief financial officer Siyamdumisa Vilakazi told parliament that Ingonyama Holdings had refused to provide them with financial records for submission to the Auditor General of South Africa.
The source said the board believed that Ingonyama Holdings should “either be cleaned up or closed down” and that attempts should be made to recover the R41 million it had received from the ITB.
ITB spokesperson Simphiwe Mxakaza had not replied to requests for comment by the time of going to print.