As the EFF terminated AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo’s membership following his visit to Israel, two party members whom the king had appointed to senior positions in his office in May resigned, citing political differences.
Ncedo Kolanisi resigned as premier-general of the AbaThembu Royal Kingdom and former EFF MP Piaba Madokwe, resigned as public relations and media officer.
Dalindyebo and the head of the Twelve Apostles Church in Christ, Chief Apostle Caesar Nongqunga, were part of a delegation hosted by that country’s ministry of foreign affairs.
The delegation met Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, in Jerusalem.
The group included Dalindyebo’s children, Princess Ntando and Prince Sinethemba, and several AbaThembu royals.
It also included the king’s uncle, Nkosi Thanduxolo Mtirara, Prince Mandla Ngonyama, AmaXhosa Prince Abongile Ngozi, former Ngcobo mayor Lamla Jiyose, Richard King, Ndivhuwo Matsila, Dr Troy Dean Meyers, Mandile Sivuyile Christopher Steto and Fundiswa Babalwa Zote.
In August, an Israeli delegation led by the country’s head of digital diplomacy, David Saranga, visited Dalindyebo in his Nkululekweni private residence in Mthatha, to provide humanitarian relief to the victims of the recent floods in Mthatha.
They pledged ongoing aid, beginning with a donation of $10,000 (R168,575), to assist families still displaced after the disaster.
In his resignation letter, dated December 5, Kolanisi said: “I accepted this role because I believed we shared a commitment to integrity, justice and principled leadership.
“I served with sincerity, guided by the understanding that our values aligned.
“That trust was broken in August, when the kingdom welcomed representatives from Israel, under the guise of a charity initiative for Mthatha flood victims.
“It quickly became evident that the visit was not about humanitarian relief but political alignment.
“This occurred despite a clear prior agreement that the kingdom would not engage with the Israeli delegation.”
He said the king’s visit to Israel “confirmed that this shift was deliberate and long-planned”.
He had expressed his discomfort repeatedly to the king, before, during and after the visit.
“From that moment, I withdrew from all activity within the kingdom.
“I have performed no duties since August, not out of neglect, but because my conscience would not allow me to continue under an institution aligning itself with the Israeli state,” he said.
“I had held onto a hope that reflection, or the escalating suffering in Palestine, might change the kingdom’s direction.”
Kolanisi said he could not remain aligned with any structure that “associates itself with a state responsible for systemic oppression and mass suffering of Palestinian people”.
“To disregard this context, or to align oneself with the machinery responsible for such oppression, is to turn away from the very fabric of our own liberation,” he wrote.
Madokwe said though her appointment was not formal, she cited similar reasons, including that Dalindyebo had declared Israel a friend of the kingdom, as what had forced her to resign.
“I had made it clear that certain things are non-negotiable for me, and any association with a murderous regime like Israel sits at the top of that list.
“Our pleas on this matter changed nothing, so there is no need for me to elaborate further on why I feel strongly about this stance.
“Nothing has changed from what I expressed before and during that visit,” she wrote on December 10.
Kolanisi confirmed the resignations on Friday.
The king’s spokesperson and daughter, Princess Ntando Dalindyebo and AbaThembu kingdom spokesperson, Prince Baphelele Mtirara, whose father was part of the delegation to Israel, did not respond to questions sent on Friday.
The AbaThembu royal family has appointed a delegation headed by advocate Matthew Mpahlwa, who is a senior royal adviser, “to engage the South African government and other royal houses to provide clarity on the matter, where necessary”.
On May 23, Dalindyebo announced a major restructuring in the royal administration, introducing new senior positions.
He appointed Kolanisi to the newly created role of premier-general, Nkosi Mandla Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela, as secretary-general, and Prince Mandla Ngonyama as convener.
On April 7, Dalindyebo relieved one of his trusted aides, Prince Mthunzi Ngonyama, of his duties as the king’s spokesperson for more than a decade.
Ngonyama is a dedicated ANC member.
At the time, the king said their different political affiliations had caused “a rough patch” in their relationship.
“When my political belief is on one side of the fence while my spokesperson’s political belief is on the other side of the fence, then how can we trust each other?” he said.
AbaThembu royal houses, including AmaNdungwana and AmaQiya, have distanced themselves from the king’s relationship with Israel.
They viewed Dalindyebo’s Israel visit as “a harmful political endorsement”.
Speaking for the two royal houses, Nkosi Vulisango Pantshwa, accused Dalindyebo of endorsing “genocide” against Palestinians and of having brought the AbaThembu kingdom into “serious disrepute”.
“When a leader demonstrates public sympathy for the proponents of apartheid and genocide, the fundamental question of his fitness to hold such a sacred trust must be examined,” Pantshwa said.
In response, Mphahlwa said: “The AbaThembu royal family has taken note of the concerns raised by the junior houses.
“However, royal protocol does not permit engagement with the said houses via the media.”
Daily Dispatch
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