In a move that sends shockwaves through South Africa’s traditional leadership circles, two pivotal Royal Houses of the AbaThembu nation have publicly severed themselves from their own king. The Royal Houses of AmaNdungwana and AmaQiya have issued a scorching condemnation of King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, forcefully rejecting his recent diplomatic foray to Israel and his controversial comments on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
This is not a mild disagreement over protocol. The Houses frame it as a fundamental betrayal of the very soul of the Thembu people, whose history is deeply intertwined with South Africa’s struggle against apartheid.
A Stance “Incompatible” with Legacy
In a powerful joint statement, the Houses declared the King’s visit to Israel a “deliberate engagement in a campaign of political propaganda.” While condemning the October 7 attacks, they anchored their position in a longer history, emphasizing that “the Palestinian pursuit of self-determination long predates that event and resonates deeply with South Africa’s own struggle against oppression.”
This directly counters King Dalindyebo’s own remarks, where he suggested President Cyril Ramaphosa and Mandla Mandela were spreading “propaganda” and praised Israel for being “very lenient in its retaliation.”
For the dissenting Royal Houses, such a stance is unconscionable for a leader whose title is forever linked to Nelson Mandela. The statement called it a “profound collective disappointment” that the King “would choose to stand alongside the architects of occupation rather than with the oppressed.”
A Call to Convene: Questioning Fitness to Lead
The rebuke goes beyond foreign policy critique. The Houses describe this incident as part of a “wider pattern of behaviour” that has brought the Kingship into disrepute. As a result, they are taking the extraordinary step of calling for a formal convocation of the AbaThembu nation.
The agenda? To scrutinize the future of the Kingship itself. “When a leader demonstrates public sympathy for the proponents of apartheid and genocide,” their statement reads, “the fundamental question of his fitness to hold such a sacred trust must be examined.”
This is a seismic challenge to Dalindyebo’s authority, asserting that “no leader, including the King, stands above the collective will of the AbaThembu nation.”
More Than a Royal Rift: A National Symbolism
The fallout transcends royal family drama. It places a stark, public spotlight on the enduring symbolic power of South Africa’s liberation legacy in contemporary geopolitics. For a significant portion of the Thembu community and the watching South African public, the King’s alignment is seen not just as a political misstep, but as a moral abdication of a heritage born from resistance.
The coming convocation will be more than a tribal gathering; it will be a referendum on what values a traditional leader must embody in a modern, politically conscious South Africa. The Houses have drawn a line in the sand, making it clear that the weight of the Mandela name cannot be worn by a king they believe stands on the wrong side of history.
