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King Toni Mphephu Ramabulana.

Will the coronation of King Toni proceed?

 

Whether or not there will be a coronation ceremony in Thohoyandou next Friday (9th) may be decided in court today (2nd). The legal team of King Toni Mphephu Ramabulana and that of Masindi Clementine Mphephu and Mbulaheni Charles Mphephu are expected to clash in the Thohoyandou High Court over whether the coronation ceremony is pre-empting other legal processes.

According to Mr Johann Hammann, attorney for Masindi and Mbulaheni Mphephu, they will ask the court to grant an interdict halting the ceremony. They feel that the coronation ceremony is premature because the court case in which they are contesting the kingship title, is about to be heard in the High Court. Hammann said that all the necessary Heads of Arguments had been filed and the parties must simply find a suitable date.

Masindi (25) is the only child of the late paramount chief of the Vhavenda, Tshimangadzo Mphephu (who ruled under the name Dimbanyika). She claims that she should have been next in line for the throne, but was overlooked because of, among others, gender discrimination. She, along with her uncle Mbulaheni Charles Mphephu, took the matter to court in 2012. Mbulaheni argues that, should Masindi not be considered for the kingship position, he should be next in line.

Hammann mentioned on Wednesday that the documents were served on the various parties last week. According to him, President Jacob Zuma’s legal representatives indicated that they would not oppose the matter but would abide by the decision of the court. President Zuma is supposed to hand over the recognition certificate to the king on the 9th. King Toni’s legal team have filed their affidavits, opposing the application for an interdict.

At the time of our going to press it seemed very likely that the parties would meet in the Thohoyandou High Court on Friday morning to ask the court to make a decision. Masindi and Mbulaheni Mpehphu will probably be represented by well-known advocate Dali Mpofu.

The chief advisor for King Toni, Mr Jackson Mafunzwaini, reaffirmed on Wednesday that they will vigorously oppose any application that the ceremony must not go ahead. According to him, the application is a very opportunistic attempt to derail the process and it will not be tolerated.

Mafunzwaini criticised the manner in which the application was brought before the court and said proper procedures had not been not followed. He said that they would ask the court for a cost order, should they be successful in opposing the application.

Mr Musangwairi said that the planning for the coronation event would go ahead and they would not be deterred by the legal threats.

On 9 September the Vhavenda royal family plans to crown Toni Mphephu Ramabulana in line with their own customs and traditions. Immediately after the coronation, President Zuma will symbolically hand over the recognition certificate to the king.

The event will be held at Thohoyandou Stadium and will be attended by between 11 000 and 15 000 people. The ceremony will be taking place under the theme, “Restoring the kingship of Vhavenda under the lineage of His Majesty King Toni Mphephu Ramabulana”.

 

Date:01 September 2016

By: Anton van Zyl

Anton van Zyl has been with the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror since 1990. He graduated from the Rand Afrikaans University (now University of Johannesburg) and obtained a BA Communications degree. He is a founder member of the Association of Independent Publishers.

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