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Jailed AbaThembu king Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo says his living conditions are worse than Oscar Pistorius’ were when he was in prison.
Dalindyebo was speaking through his adviser, Phandulwazi Mhlontlo. He disputed media reports that suggested he was “living royally” in prison.
Mhlontlo, in a telephonic interview, told City Press yesterday that he was with the king at the Life private hospital in East London and that the monarch wanted to set the record straight.
“The king said I must tell you that all these stories that he was living like royalty while in prison were lies. He lives in a small cell at Unit 5 in the East London maximum centre.
“I went to fetch the king’s personal belongings as instructed by him and personally went inside his cell. His bed is full of rust. There is a small locker next to the bed which is all rusty and full of cockroaches. The walls, painted grey and cream inside, are peeling. The toilet seat does not [have a lid] and is leaking. There is nothing royal about what I saw,” Mhlontlo said.
He said the king saw pictures of the cell that housed Pistorius at Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre and felt it was way better than his.
Mhlontlo said the only thing that appeared new in the king’s cell was the small, thin mattress on the bed.
“The king feels that even Oscar had a better cell than him and wants doctors treating him to visit his cell to determine whether they were conducive for a person with his medical condition,” he said.
Mhlontlo said he and the king’s wife, Queen Nokwanda, went to the prison on Tuesday to collect all the king’s personal belongings, which included a number of political books, toiletries, his bedding and clothes.
Queen Nokwanda could not be reached for comment.
“The king doesn’t use the bedding of the prison because he feels it is unhygienic. He also refuses to wear those orange overalls. So he asked me to fetch his personal clothes. He is worried that the insects in there might ruin his clothes,” Mhlontlo said.
Correctional services department spokesperson Zama Feni confirmed that Dalindyebo was at the hospital after he fell ill on Sunday and that his personal belongings were taken on Tuesday.
Feni refused to comment on whether the king was using his own bedding and civilian clothes.
“Like we have always said, the king is being treated like any other offender. He is not treated differently in any way. That is all I am prepared to say,” Feni said.
Dalindyebo is serving a 12-year prison sentence for arson, kidnapping, assault to do grievous bodily harm and defeating the ends of justice.
The king was first admitted to Life St Dominic’s Hospital on January 8 after going on a hunger strike.
He was released last Thursday only to be readmitted on Sunday.
“When the king was released he went on another hunger strike. That is why his condition deteriorated and he had to be rushed to hospital. He still refused to eat the samp and beans he is being given there because he feels the prison diet is not suitable for a person with ulcers,” Mhlontlo said.
