By Elmon Tshikhudo and Anton van Zyl
The Mphephu-Ramabulana royal family have started with legal proceedings to try and force the Limpopo Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (Coghsta) to recognise Vho-Mavhungu David Mphephu as interim leader. While no regent is being recognised, the staff members at the royal palace remain unpaid.
In April this year, Coghsta stopped paying the salaries of the 16 staff members working at the royal palace. Before that, the R1,2 million salary that Toni Mphephu Ramabulana was receiving, along with perks such as free security services, was stopped.
Toni was stripped of his title in 2019 by the Supreme Court of Appeal and the matter was referred back to the Limpopo High Court. His appeal to the Constitutional Court was also unsuccessful, and in 2021, this court ruled that the process to appoint a new heir should first be scrutinised by the High Court.
While the legal battles are continuing, the royal house still has to continue functioning, but the infighting has caused a stalemate situation. At least three parties are claiming the title and the distrust among them does not seem to be taking matters forward.
In April this year, the Mphephu-Ramabulana royal family announced that Mavhungu David Mphephu, commonly known as Vho-Japan, was nominated to be the acting king. The necessary documentation was forwarded to Coghsta. Initially, the decision to appoint Vho-Japan seemed to be a popular one, but the cracks soon started to appear. Princess Masindi Mphephu Ramabulana, one of the main contenders for the leadership title, fired the first shots by writing to the premier (via her lawyers), stating that Vho-Japan was not a suitable candidate for the position, for a variety of reasons.
In an effort to find a way forward, a meeting was held on 4 August this year, chaired by the MEC, Basikopo Makamu. During this meeting, presentations were made by three groups, each claiming to be representative of the royal family. As a way forward, the MEC suggested that the legal team from Coghsta should find out which of the three groups constituted the legitimate royal family. He requested the department's legal team to arrange for a meeting where all three groups would sit in one meeting to resolve the matter.
A week later, a meeting was scheduled to which the parties were invited to discuss the problems and try and plot a way forward. Princess Masindi initially indicated that she would be represented at the meeting, but when the agenda of the meeting became known, Masindi's legal representatives pulled out of the discussions.
In a letter addressed to Coghsta, Masindi's legal representative, Johann Hammann, writes: "…we were under the impression this meeting [14 August] was arranged to finalise the appointment of an acting king or queen, and therefore we accepted your original invitation. From the agenda received on Friday, the 12th of August 2022, it seems that the matters on the agenda are exactly the matters to be decided by the Limpopo High Court … The MEC has no jurisdiction to engage in that enquiry pending the outcome of the court proceedings."
One of the obstacles seems to be that the royal family is insisting on appointing an acting king and not a regent. A reply from SO Ravele Attorneys states that: "We are instructed to place it on record that Mr David Mphephu Ramabulana was identified in accordance with the customary law of Masingo … to act as a King (not as a regent) in terms [of legislation]."
Masindi's legal team appears to view the manner in which Vho-Japan is appointed as a shrewd way to manipulate the process of choosing a new successor to the throne.
While the infighting continues, the staff at the royal palace are the collateral damage, not having received any salary for the past seven months.
The latest move to take the matter to court is said to be supported by only a couple of the 28 Thovheles of the Vhavenda. Sources claim that the supporting Thovheles are all very close confidantes of the ousted former king, Toni Mphephu Ramabulana.
During a meeting held last Tuesday (11 October) at Dzanani, a resolution was adopted that the royal family should file an application in the High Court to compel the Limpopo Premier and MEC Makamu to recognise Vho-Japan as the acting king of the Vhavenda.
The Mphephu royal family spokesperson, Mr Ntsieni Ramabulana, confirmed this week that such a meeting took place, where several khadzis and makhotsimunene were present. "I can confirm we launched an application with the Thohoyandou High Court last week and as we speak, the matter is in the hands of the court and we are just waiting for a date which we believe will be soon as there is urgency in the matter," he said.
Ramabulana further indicated that the decision to take the legal route came after they had exhausted all avenues to resolve the issue. "We have interacted with the premier and the MEC, but all our meetings and correspondence have not yielded positive outcomes," he said.
Ramabulana said the matter had impacted very negatively on the office at the royal palace, as staff members had not been paid. "We hope this case will be treated with the urgency it deserves," Ramabulana said.