King’s aide beaten and pictures posted online
The right-hand man of AbaThembu king Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo was the talk of social media on Tuesday night when images of him beaten and halfnaked were posted online.
Pictures of Babalo Papu were posted to Facebook and circulated via WhatsApp — hours after he was allegedly beaten up in Mthatha. By late Wednesday afternoon, one post had garnered more than 400 comments.
Papu confirmed the attack and alleged he had been beaten by acting king Azenathi, his bodyguards and Dalindyebo’s brother, Prince Siganeko.
He thanked those who had called and sent messages. “It shows that I am not alone.
Thank you and goodnight to all.”
Azenathi’s spokesperson, Nkosi Dumisani Mgudlwa, on Wednesday denied Papu’s allegations that the royal had been involved in the incident.
“While we do not want to comment on this matter, Zanelizwe [Azenathi] was never involved in any brawl, including with Babalo or Siganeko.
“To drag his name into this is just peddling lies and being mischievous and misleading the public,” Mgudlwa said.
Though many social media users sympathised with Papu, others questioned why he would have been beaten up out of the blue.
Neither Papu nor Siganeko would comment when contacted on Tuesday evening and again on Wednesday.
Both men said they would lay criminal complaints with the police and had been advised by their legal representatives not to speak to the media.
“I will talk to the media in due course after [I have] properly consulted with my lawyer,” Papu said.
Siganeko said: “We are not ready to talk to the media at the moment. When the time is right, we will tell the whole story.”