Princess loses bid to be the queen
Masindi sought to unseat her uncle as Venda monarch
A Venda princess has lost a protracted battle to claim the kingship of her people at the expense of the incumbent, King Toni Mphephu Ramabulana.
Yesterday the Polokwane High Court dismissed Masindi Mphephu’s appeal against 2012 decision by President Jacob Zuma to recognise her uncle, Ramabulana, as the rightful head of the Venda nation.
Princess Masindi sought to be recognised as the leader instead. She is the daughter of the late king Tshimangadzo Dimbanyika Mphephu, who was the current king’s older brother.
Dimbanyika Mphephu died in 1997, in a car crash, when Masindi was just six. She lodged her court action in 2012, when she was 21.
Her lawyers had argued that she was overlooked for the position on the basis of her gender.
But Judge Ephraim Makgoba yesterday dismissed her appeal. Masindi’s legal counsel, Advocate Alan Dodson argued that Masindi was an heir to the throne as she was the daughter of the king’s brother.
The king was represented by Advocate Thabiso Machaba.
He said there were no compelling reasons to change the status quo and that no other court would reach a different conclusion. Both Machaba and prosecutor Norman Arendse conceded there were no prospects of success in an appeal.
In dismissing the case, Makgoba said Masindi should have resorted to internal remedies before rushing to court.
“The two parties could have tried to find ways to resolve the dispute themselves before coming to court,” he said.
Approached for comment after the judgement, Masindi’s lawyer, Johann Hamman, said they would now petition the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein.