A dispute over the extension of the contract of the CEO of the Ingonyama Trust has led to Zulu monarch King Misuzulu kaZwelithini repeating his call for the disbandment of the trust's board.
The board overruled King Misuzulu — who is its chair — when it decided to extend Vela Mngwengwe’s contract.
In June, King Misuzulu told Mngwengwe that his three-year contract set to expire on July 18 would not be renewed. But barely a month later the board overruled the King — deciding to contract Mngwengwe for another three years.
The king’s traditional prime minister, Thulasizwe Buthelezi, told the Sunday Times that the king was still of the view that the board should be disbanded, a call that is supported by Amakhosi and that has been communicated with the minister of land reform and rural development Mzwanele Nyhontso.
“The whole Zulu nation rejects this board and we were of the firm view that by now the minister would have dissolved [it] so that a new process can begin which places Amakhosi, and not government, at the centre of decision-making on the board,” Buthelezi explained.
King Misuzulu expressed his concerns over tensions between himself and the board three months ago in a meeting with Nyhontso. But according to Buthelezi, the king was to receive feedback.
King Misuzulu previously told Amakhosi that the board refused to accept him, that they wanted him out and while he has never publicly provided specific details of the origins of the tensions, he has mentioned Mngwengwe as the key driver of the rift.
The Sunday Times understands that Nyhontso’s counsel on the matter was that King Misuzulu should rather abandon the chairship of the board to avoid having to appear “before a parliamentary portfolio committee and have politicians question him”.
But yesterday Nyhontso denied making the suggestion. He said he would attend to the king's concerns when he returned from an overseas trip.
“I should have returned [to meet the king] already. Last week I informed the traditional prime minister that I am working on coming back. I have also met the premier of KZN and informed him that I am coming back and we must deal with the concerns of the king,” he said.
Ingonyama Trust spokesperson Simphiwe Mxakaza denied there was tension between the king and the board.
“There are no tensions between his majesty the king and the board, after all he is the chairperson of the board. Those peddling these reports are mischievous and destructive people with a sinister agenda.
“The board is a statutory body discharging its mandate in terms of the Ingonyama Trust Act as amended. Currently it is focusing on the work that it is authorised to do within the ambit of the law,” he said.
The board of the trust is appointed by the minister. The king has previously stated that traditional leaders, not government, should run the trust.
The Ingonyama Trust was established in 1994 and administers 2.8-million hectares of land in KwaZulu-Natal.
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