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King Dalindyebo could ditch DA to return to ANC

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King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo caused a storm when he joined the DA in July 2013. It is believed that he is now ‘seriously considering going back home’ to the ruling ANC.
King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo caused a storm when he joined the DA in July 2013. It is believed that he is now ‘seriously considering going back home’ to the ruling ANC.
Felix Dlangamandla/Foto24

AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo could ditch the DA and head back to the ANC.

City Press has learnt that the king is in secret talks with top figures of the ruling party who are aiming to lure him back into the fold.

At least three sources within the Bumbane Great Place, Eastern Cape, where the king resides, confirmed the talks – with one source telling City Press that Dalindyebo was “seriously considering going back home”.

Dalindyebo caused a storm when he joined the DA in July 2013, labelling the ANC government arrogant and corrupt. He also took a swipe at President Jacob Zuma, calling him a tribalist and a liar.

But now the king, who subsequently apologised to President Zuma at a meeting in Nkandla, seems to be turning his back on the opposition party. According to a source close to the king, the monarch has not even renewed his DA membership.

“The king is tired of fighting. That is why he went to apologise to the president last year. He wanted to make peace between himself and Zuma,” said one source.

“The king is mindful of the fact that his family played a big role in the liberation movement. He only left the ANC in protest and to show his anger. As long as some of the things he was protesting about are addressed, he is prepared to return to the ruling party,” added another source.

The insider said President Zuma was scheduled to make a return visit to Bumbane Great Place in April, but those plans were derailed by the outbreak of xenophobic attacks in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

It is believed that talks between the monarch and the ANC are being facilitated by one of Zuma’s sons, Sizwe; ANC treasury-general Zweli Mkhize; and Dalindyebo’s spokesperson and right-hand man, Nkosi Mfundo Mtirara, who is also an ANC councillor in the King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality.

Mtirara would not comment on whether the king was preparing to rejoin the ANC.

“I can neither confirm nor deny that. I think when it comes to which political party one choses, it’s a personal thing. I regard His Majesty as the king of abaThembu – not a politician,” he said.

Regarding Zuma’s return visit to the king’s residence, Mtirara said it was up to the president’s office to give them a suitable time.

“The president’s son Sizwe had indicated that Zuma would come to Bumbane for a return visit. His people had requested a date, but we said – as the president is the one with the busy schedule – he should propose a date instead. We are confident the visit might happen in May,” he explained.

DA leader in the Eastern Cape Athol Trollip, who personally welcomed Dalindyebo to the DA when he joined, said he wasn’t aware of any plans by the king to ditch them in favour of the ANC.

“I can’t speculate about speculation. The king came to us voluntarily and, as far as I know, he is still a member. He has given me no indication that he wants to move to another political organisation,” he said.

However, Trollip could not say whether the monarch was a DA member in good standing. “I cannot tell you if Dalindyebo’s membership of the DA is in good standing or not. It’s not for me to discuss individual’s membership,” he added.

The ANC’s national spokesperson, Zizi Kodwa, said the ANC had every right to engage in discussions with the monarch if it wanted to.

“There is nothing wrong with the ANC having discussions with the king. It does not matter which political party the king belongs to. He is still a king of all people of abaThembu. The ANC respects its kings and all traditional leaders.

“All I can say is that the king has a rich history with the liberation movement. He is a soldier of the ANC, a trained cadre of the ANC – not just an ordinary person,” Kodwa said.

Dalindyebo is a clan nephew to late former president Nelson Mandela.

His father, King Sabata Dalindyebo, died in exile in Lusaka, Zambia, in 1986.

But the young Dalindyebo, a self-confessed dagga smoker, has been dogged by controversy.

In 2005, he was convicted of culpable homicide, arson, assault, defeating the ends of justice and kidnapping. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, but is appealing both the sentence and conviction.

In July last year, President Zuma threatened to withdraw his certification of recognition as a king after some members of the royal family – who were unhappy with Dalindyebo – wrote to the president demanding action.

The king consequently approached the Mthatha High Court arguing that the president had no right to remove a monarch.

President Zuma later withdrew the threat.

A source close to the king said Dalindyebo was keen to return to the ANC as long as Zuma implemented the findings of the Nhlapo commission, which declared him the overall king of the entire abaThembu nation, including western Thembuland, which previously had its own monarch.

“He [Dalindyebo] also wants all kings in the country to be accorded the same status, and for [Zulu King Goodwill] Zwelithini not to appear as a superking,” said the source, who asked to remain anonymous

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