AbaThembu king felt disrespected by his son over a traditional ceremony performed by the latter for his late father, Sabata

A traditional ceremony to mourn the late abaThembu King Sabata Dalindyebo has emerged as one of the reasons why his son, King Buyelekhaya, allegedly attacked Azenathi, his own son and acting king, this week.

Buyelekhaya, who was released from prison in December, had been staying at his private residency in Nkululekweni since then.

However, in the wee hours of Friday morning he stormed the Bumbane Great Place – where Azenathi lives as acting king of abaThembu – and ransacked the house.

In the process, Azenathi and his wife, Usikhumbulile, sustained minor injuries and fled the house for their safety.

Buyelekhaya, who was allegedly carrying an axe, machete and crowbar, also allegedly removed clothes and furniture belonging to Azenathi from the house and chased him away.

Buyelekhaya was also seen moving around the Great Place where Sabata is buried.

Babalo Papu, a close confidante of Buyelekhaya, told City Press that the ceremony to perform izila (a traditional ceremony of mourning for a deceased person) was being done without the blessings of Buyelekhaya, who, as the head of the family and nation of abaThembu, is in charge of overseeing such important customs of the family, and more so when they involve his late father.

On Saturday, Azenathi and senior traditional leaders performed izila for Sabata without involving Buyelekhaya in its planning or execution.

Papu said the izila for Sabata and the repatriation of his spirit had been done in 1989 when he was reburied at Bumbane Great Place, a process that was led by Buyelekhaya and elders. It was a sign of disrespect on the part of Azenathi to repeat the process.

“The process of reburial and repatriation of King Sabata’s spirit was done by King Zwelibanzi (Buyelekhaya’s praise name). All the processes for the repatriation of his spirit were done properly. Also, you must remember that such significant traditional ceremonies are done and overseen by inkulu (the heir), not a child. Azenathi does not have authority to do a traditional ceremony of that magnitude while his father is there. These are the kinds of things that result in the wrath of ancestors,” Papu said.

Papu said Azenathi was trying to use King Sabata’s name to blackmail his father (Buyelekhaya) and portray him as a person who did not care about what was happening within his own family.

“These things give the impression that Zwelibanzi does not care and never cared about his father. You cannot perform izila twice. There is no need to redo what was done already in the 1980s,” he said.

Last year Azenathi, accompanied by senior traditional leaders and healers, went to Lusaka to repatriate the spirit of his grandfather.

The izila on Saturday was a continuation of that processes to mourn the late king.

Those close to Buyelekhaya said Azenathi’s latest actions were the last straw that broke the camel’s back, because the king felt disrespected by his own son in his own home.

Nkosi Dumisani Mgudlwa, spokesperson for Azenathi, said there was no way they could inform Buyelekhaya about the izila because he had broken all communication channels between the royal family and the acting king.

Shortly after his December release from jail, where he had served time for kidnapping and assault, Buyelekhaya refused to meet Azenathi, who held the throne following his incarceration.

Mgudlwa disputed suggestions that the performance of izila for Sabata was an act to provoke Buyelekhaya, who is known for being short-tempered.

He said there was nothing that could stop the performing of izila on Saturday.

“Izila is going ahead as planned. We are going to slaughter a cow and appease the ancestors and apologise to them for all the things that have been happening in this nation. We are also going to apologise for the actions of Zwelibanzi, including what he did on Friday morning,” he said.

Mgudlwa said ten years ago the royal house received sponsorship to repatriate the spirit of Sabata from Lusaka, but Buyelekhaya refused.

“King Buyelekhaya cannot oversee things that involve King Sabata because he abused his father in exile. So those things now haunt him. The problem is that he cannot sit with his son and the royal family and abaThembu as a nation, and plan things that should be happening in the nation. The problem now is that he is trying to stop the ceremony violently,” he said.

On Friday morning Prince Siganeko Dalindyebo said Azenathi was living in fear following the incident.

“Certainly the acting king is living in fear. You cannot have someone inside your house without your invitation. And I must make this point clear, when Zanelizwe (Azenathi’s praise name) took over the reins there were court processes which led up to him opening Bumbane Great Place. Zwelibanzi was supposed to respect those fundamental processes that led to his son occupying the Great Place,” he said.

Siganeko, who is Buyelekhaya’s younger brother and Azenathi’s uncle, said he was disappointed at his older brother because he was supposed to set an example as a leader.

“I am really disappointed that my own brother is the one who is dragging the name of the family through the mud. He is portraying us to the world as violent, unruly people. What he did is tyranny,” said Siganeko, a strong supporter of Azenathi.

Meanwhile, Papu, who accompanied the king when he visited the Bumbane Great Place on Friday morning, says stories that Buyelekhaya was carrying dangerous weapons were not true.

He was simply returning to his home and no one was going to stop him from doing that.

But Siganeko was adamant that Buyelekhaya was armed with an axe, a machete and crowbar, and jumped the fence when he found the gates locked.

“He managed to break a window in the sitting-room and got access to the house. When people heard the commotion they woke up and investigated, only to find him shouting for King Azenathi. Fortunately the acting king managed to jump out of the window,” he said.

City Press overheard Azenathi tell an elder that he had jumped out the window “butt naked” and fearing for his life.

Buyelekhaya, who was released on a warning after an appearance at the Mthatha Magistrates’ Court on Friday, will have to answer to charges of assault and malicious damage to property.

He will return to court on June 1.

Brigadier Thembinkosi Kinana said the investigation was ongoing and additional charges could be added if the probe warranted such.

Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane said: “It’s very sad news.”

He explained that he had spoken to Dalindyebo “when we left with him from the prison to make him understand the significance of him going out and having his people for cohesion of that nation”.

Correctional services, in a statement, said it was aware of the case and was working with the police to get further details of the matter “as the parolee was placed into the system of community corrections with certain conditions that must be complied with”.

“A full report will be brought to the attention of the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board to consider the conduct of the parolee and adjudicate on the way forward. This shall also be largely determined by the court processes already under way.”