A very peculiar and uncomfortable "hostage drama" played out at the Makuya royal kraal on Tuesday night. One of the most senior leaders of the Vhavenda, Mailausumbwa Kennedy Tshivhase, had to spend the night at Makuya village after community members barricaded the road and prevented him from leaving.
The dramatic series of events started last Thursday, 9 March, with the death of Thovhele Ntsweteni Makuya. The traditional leader died of an undisclosed illness at a surgery in Thohoyandou. Shortly after his death, his body was taken to a mortuary in Shayandima, but then it apparently disappeared.
Vhavenda tradition requires that he be buried three days after his death, but this did not happen, and a fierce family feud has now erupted.
According to Khotsimunene Vho-Benny Makuya, the late leader passed away while being attended to by a doctor at a Thohoyandou surgery. At the time of his death, Thovhele Makuya was staying with his girlfriend at Muledane.
"We learnt that the girlfriend took him to a mortuary at Shayandima Industrial Site and we later learnt it was also moved from there," Vho-Makuya said. According to him, the family members wanted to perform the cultural rites before the burial ceremony but are unable to do so. "The villagers are angry, and they want to know what had happened to the body. We now suspect foul play. Why this hide and seek about the body?" he said.
In an interview on Wednesday, Mailausumbwa Kennedy Tshivhase, the head of the Tshivhase Dynasty, said that he had heard about the passing on of Makuya and was surprised as days passed without his being informed of the royal burial.
"Out of concern I, together with other people, visited the family on Tuesday (14th) just to find out what was happening and to give advice. We deliberated on the matter for a long time and at around 22:00 [realised that] the family still could not find each other. We decided to leave, having adjourned the matter for the following day," he explained. "Just as we went to our cars, we found the way blockaded with burning tyres and other debris. We could not risk going out as the crowd was threatening."
Tshivhase said that they had to retreat to the house and were kept hostage the whole night and were only able to leave the palace at around 07:00 the next morning. "The atmosphere was very hostile and we had to spend the whole night at Makuya's house. We tried calling the police, but we could not, even though they were around," he said.
Tshivhase said that he was extremely disappointed about the way the incident was being handled. "I went there to help, but ended up in a very compromising situation. I am a family member, and just before he [Makuya] passed on, he came to me and told me there is a problem that needed my help with at his palace. But that was not to be, as he passed on before we could sit down. I am just happy that I am back home and safe," he said.
The news about the (temporary) disappearance of the traditional leader's body came as a shock, not only to the family members, but also to the community as a whole. The matter has also divided members of the royal family.
Muthuhadini Makuya, the spokesperson for the family, said that they were not happy with the manner in which the late Thovhele's wife (queen) and his girlfriend (mufarekano) were handling the matter.
Muthuhadini Makuya said that conflict had arisen between members of the Makuya clan and the girlfriend, because many believed that they had not been married in accordance with the traditional customs. He said that leadership feuds within the royal family had continued for the past seven years.
Mr Khuliso Netshiavha of Protocol Funeral Undertakers confirmed on Wednesday that the body of the deceased, Thovhele Makuya, was brought to them last Thursday by his wife and the girlfriend, soon after his death. The next day, the body was sent to the GPTR mortuary in Sibasa.
Mr Phumudzo Netshilindi, the manager of the mortuary in Sibasa, confirmed that his mortuary had received the body of the deceased. He said that they were waiting for the wife and the girlfriend of the deceased to inform them when and where they would be taking the body. "We cannot allow any family members to come and take the body, other than the two who brought it to us soon after his death," he said.