Clan at loggerheads ‘over minerals’
THE DISCOVERY of minerals in a large rural expanse near Port Shepstone led to Kwazulu-natal Premier Willies Mchunu deposing a South Coast inkosi (traditional leader), the Pietermaritzburg High Court has been told.
Former inkosi Moses Madlala is seeking an urgent order to set aside a recent decision to relieve him of the chieftancy of the Madlala traditional community – a position he has held for almost 30 years.
In papers before the court, Madlala says the premier’s decision was to “achieve an ulterior motive” and appoint “a more pliable inkosi, to the detriment of the Madlala community”.
The intention, said Madlala, was for the new chief, Vusumuzi Madlala, “to acquire status in certain mining operations”.
Mchunu has not yet responded to the High Court application, nor has the KZN Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) or the Sikhakhane Commission, which investigated Vusumuzi’s leadership claim.
On May 4, Moses was advised that he was no longer recognised as the Madlala clan leader. This decision was endorsed by the Office of the KZN Premier.
Vusumuzi has since received written confirmation from Cogta and the Premier’s Office that he is now the leader of the Madlala clan, but Vusumuzi is now in hiding.
His lawyer, Abongile Swana of law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, said her client feared for his life as a result of the leadership dispute which has been causing tensions in the area since the 1990s.
Swana said bloodshed had typified the clashes between Vusumuzi’s and Moses’s factions over the years.
Cogta’s decision to oust Moses is now being challenged in the High Court.
“Over an uninterrupted period of more than 27 years, I have been the only inkosi recognised and accepted by the Madlala traditional community,” reads his affidavit.
Moses said history and genealogy supported his claim as leader. He said he had faced a similar legal challenge from Vusumuzi Madlala’s faction in 1991, but the court passed judgment in his favour.
He argues that the premier has failed to recognise that court decision.
Instead, irrelevant considerations were taken into account, say his attorneys.
Moses also points a finger at the Sikhakhane Commission for having conducted an irregular and unfair investigation into the chieftancy dispute.
“A member of the commission acted as a witness and investigator. I was badgered when I presented oral evidence, and documentary evidence presented to the commission was not made available to me,” he claims.
He has asked the court to urgently reverse the premier’s decision to recognise Vusumuzi Madlala as leader.
While Vusumuzi has not yet filed a responding affidavit, his lawyer said Vusumuzi’s previous endeavours to be confirmed as head of his clan had been well documented.
“He has approached various government departments and leaders over the years, including former president Thabo Mbeki in 2007 for assistance, but without success,” said Swana.
Vusumuzi also wrote to the public protector and explained how even his forefathers were denied the opportunity to serve as the Madlala community’s leader.
He suggested political interference, especially during the apartheid years, and the “emergence of the homeland system, which previously empowered the Kwazulu cabinet to appoint traditional leaders, to be problematic”.
Swana said Vusumuzi and his followers believed that the Nhlapo Commission, which was set up by the government in 2005, and later the Sikhakhane Commission (2012) to investigate traditional leadership disputes, would eventually reveal the truth.
“Since 2013, our clients have been waiting for the outcome of the (Sikhakhane) commission’s findings,” said Swana.
“In 2016, we started making enquiries, with Paia (Promotion of Access to Information Act) applications and internal appeals to access the commission’s report.
“We got the report in October from the office of the premier. We waited for someone from government to pronounce on the commission’s recommendation. Cogta did so on May 4,” said Swana.