Dalindyebo’s sigh of relief
Court grants temporary reprieve
THERE were frantic moves behind the scenes yesterday to keep AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo out of jail.
While it appears that the bid to have his bail extended until his petition for a retrial is decided on has failed, he will be spending Christmas with his family out of jail – but not New Year.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesman Luxolo Tyali confirmed that a committal order was signed in terms of which the king must hand himself over to the Department of Correctional Services for his jail term on or before December 30.
He said the order was granted in terms of a ruling that the 14 days in which he had to surrender himself for prison should be measured from when Dalindyebo was informed of the Constitutional Court’s decision to refuse him leave to appeal, and not from the date of the decision itself.
The controversial monarch was due to hand himself over at Wellington Prison in Mthatha yesterday to start serving a 12-year sentence after the Concourt on December 2 dismissed his application for leave to appeal.
Dalindyebo has for six years fought against his conviction that resulted from violence he incited or personally inflicted against villagers under his jurisdiction between 1995 and 1996.
He approached the Concourt after the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) earlier this year dismissed an appeal against his conviction for kidnapping, arson and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
The SCA, however, had set aside his conviction for culpable homicide and reduced his sentence from 15 years to 12.
Yesterday, a group called the Society for the Protection of Our Constitution turned to the Mthatha High Court seeking reprieve for the embattled king.
They had asked the court to extend Dalindyebo’s bail after they had also submitted a petition to the Department of Justice to reopen the trial.
Justice spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga yesterday confirmed that Justice Minister Michael Masutha had received the petition from Yasmin Omar, who submitted it on behalf of Zehir Omar, in terms of Section 327 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
The act provides for a petition to be submitted to the minister when an individual has exhausted all legal avenues.
“The minister is currently considering the petition and will respond as soon as all the necessary assessment has been done,” said Mhaga.
By late yesterday afternoon, the king was at his home at Nkululekweni outside Mthatha.
His younger brother Prince Siganeko Dalindyebo was adamant the king would not go to jail.
“We are highly spirited that the king will enjoy Christmas with family, here at home, not in prison,” he told the Dispatch earlier in the day.
“We are not dealing with a common criminal here, but dealing with a king, a head of a nation.”
Siganeko said the petition and application for extension of bail were not delaying tactics, adding the king was exercising his constitutional right.
He said Dalindyebo still had to finalise the issue of his son, Prince Azenathi, acting as king in his absence. “Azenathi’s role needs to be clarified and all the roles of those who are to support him. He cannot leave a nation in disarray.”