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News - Date: 20 August 2012
The struggle for the kingship (Khosikhulu) position of the Vhavenda nation could soon be resolved as the hearing on the challenges filed by three senior traditional leaders resumed on Monday in the Limpopo High Court in Thohoyandou.
Three senior traditional leaders, Thovhele Tshidziwelele Nephawe of the Vhangona, Thovhele Kennedy Midiyavhathu Tshivhase and Thovhele Gole Musiiwa Mphaphuli are challenging the findings of the Nhlapo Commission on Traditional Leadership Claims, which was released by Pres Jacob Zuma on 29 July 2010. The commission recommended that the kingship of the Vhavenda nation be restored under the lineage of Mphephu Ramabulana.
Thovhele Toni Mphephu Ramabulana was identified as the rightful heir to the throne of the Vhavenda nation, but before he could be crowned, the said three traditional leaders legally challenged the findings in court. They proposed that the matter should be reviewed again.
With the start of the hearing, the Limpopo High Court in Thohoyandou was filled to capacity by traditional leaders and communities supporting their claims, with some people having to follow the proceedings from outside the court.
“People who could not be accommodated inside the court should not feel they are being excluded from hearing the submissions but should understand that the space is too small to accommodate them all. It is my wish to speed up the hearing of each claimant, so that, at the end of this week, we may finish,” said Judge Francis Lekgodi, who presides.
According to some of the findings of the Nhlapo Commission, sufficient grounds exist for the restoration of the kingship of the Vhavenda, in line with customary law and customs, but it can only be done under one king. The commission also found that, in the history of the Vhavenda, a kingship was created by Dimbanyika around 1600. The kingship was later destroyed during the reign of Mphephu Ramabulana, forefather of Thovhele Toni Mphephu Ramabulana, in 1898.
Senior Advocate Dumisane Ntsebenza, representing the Vhangona, was the first to address the court and he questioned why the restoration of the kingship of Vhavenda was only limited to the Mphephu Ramabulana clan. He mentioned that the Vhangona had testified and elaborated during the hearing of the Nhlapo Commission that the Vhangona’s kingship was clearly highlighted in Mapungubwe.
At the time of our going to press, the arguments were still continuing.
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