Another contender to the Vhavenda throne?

The Vhavenda kingship, which the court recently declared as belonging to the Mphephu Ramabulana house, hit another snag when a family member indicated an intention to oppose King Toni Mphephu Ramabulana's inauguration as king.

Princess Masindi Clementine Mphephu Ramabulana has instructed her lawyers to file an opposing motion with the intention to oppose the inauguration of  Toni Peter Ramabulana as the new Venda King.

The 21-year-old IT student in Pretoria also intends to bring an application to review Pres Jacob Zuma’s decision to recognise Toni Ramabulana as the Venda King in terms of the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act, as well as the General Notice that appeared in the Government Gazette, No 35705 of 21 September 2012.

In the papers filed, she says that "Prince Toni Mphephu served as ndumi to the late King Dimbanyika and was only appointed as regent as a temporary arrangement," because she was still young. "I am the rightful heir to the Vhavenda kingship. Toni was only acting as a regent and I am going to fight tooth and nail to reclaim my position," said Ramabulana.

She said she was very confident that she would win the case. "Our family knows who the rightful heir is. I think the truth will soon prevail and I will take my rightful place. I am queen of the Vhavenda people. I am old enough to take my place now. Toni was just a temporary arrangement," she said.

In the papers, Ramabulana quotes the Shilubana /Nwamitwa ruling and says that, as the first successor to the late King Dimbanyika, she is entitled to the throne.

Reacting to the new development, Mr Jackson Mafunzwaini, special advisor to King Toni Mphephu, said her claim was baseless. “Her father never ascended the Vhavenda throne. It seems she is not sure of what she is talking about. She must know that King Toni Mphephu was not appointed by the Mphephu family, but by the broader Vhavenda family, comprised of many senior traditional leaders," said Mafunzwaini.

He added that Clementine's father had been chief of the Mphephu tribe and not king of the Vhavenda traditional community. “She has to consult her family, who will tell her the truth. We are saying no to her ambitions to be queen of the Vahvenda; her claim is baseless and without truth," he added.

Mafunzwaini said they were suspicious that certain elements within the Venda traditional leaders were "hell- bent on dividing the Mphephu family. They must just stop it before they are caught with their pants down,” said Mafunzwaini.

News - Date: 05 November 2012

Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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