The AbaThembu nation has been thrust into an internal dispute after the controversialrecent visit of King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo to Israel. Key royal houses AmaNdungwana and AmaQiya have issued a statement distancing themselves from the king’s diplomatic engagements. The AbaThembu king travelled to Israel as part of a delegation hosted by Israel’s foreign affairs minister, Gideon Sa’ar.
The purpose of the visit was for the king to gain an “authentic picture” of the situation on the ground after the October 7 2023 attack by meeting people and experiencing the country firsthand. However, AmaNdungwana and AmaQiya viewed the visit as a deliberate and harmful political endorsement. “This dissociation is made with profound regret and a deep sense of responsibility to the heritage and moral conscience of the AbaThembu nation,” the royal houses declared.
They interpret the visit as a deliberate engagement in a campaign of political propaganda amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza, further condemning the visit as an attempt “to obscure the grave and ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and to confer unwarranted legitimacy upon the systemic oppression practiced in the West Bank.” When a leader demonstrates public sympathy for the proponents of apartheid and genocide, the fundamental question of his fitness to hold such a sacred trust must be examined The AbaThembu royal houses drew a direct line from the king’s actions to the country’s historical moral standing, which is deeply rooted in the struggle against apartheid. They argued that such an alignment is “morally indefensible” and directly contradicts the AbaThembu’s “historical legacy of resistance against oppression”. “It is therefore a source of profound collective disappointment that a monarch of the AbaThembu, whose title carries the weight of a heritage exemplified by Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela, would choose to stand alongside the architects of occupation rather than with the oppressed.” The houses criticised the king for bringing the AbaThembu nation into “serious disrepute”, characterising the Israel trip not as an isolated mistake but as “the culmination of a pattern of behaviour” that has damaged the nation’s collective honour.
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The two royal houses have called for a convocation of the AbaThembu nation to formally consider the king’s actions and their implications for the Thembu crown and people. “When a leader demonstrates public sympathy for the proponents of apartheid and genocide, the fundamental question of his fitness to hold such a sacred trust must be examined. A crown tarnished by such associations cannot command the respect and unity of the nation it is meant to serve. “We would also like to highlight that King Buyelakhaya is not bigger than the Abathembu nation.”
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