Mphaphuli supports King Toni as leader

The Mphaphuli royal family, one of the  contenders for the Vhavenda kingship, dropped a bombshell when they publicly announced their support for King Toni Mphephu as leader of the Vhavenda people.

The announcement was made last week after a family meeting, which insiders say nearly ripped the family apart. It is suspected that some said that they should appeal against the court’s judgement, while others said that they should just accept the outcome.

In an exclusive interview, the incumbent of the Mphaphuli dynasty, Thovhele Gole Mphaphuli, told Limpopo Mirror that it was one of the most painful decisions the family had to make. "Yes, we have been mum since the Pretoria High Court made the ruling that Toni Mphephu is the king of the Vhavenda nation. We have been giving the matter a lot of careful thought and it has not been easy for us a family, but we finally came to a decision that we should accept the judgement as it is.

“We can now safely say that we have come to the conclusion that we should support Toni as king. We are not going to pursue the matter any further and we have laid it to rest,” he added. He confirmed that the decision was a bitter pill to swallow and that not everyone in the family was comfortable with it.

The Nhlapo Commission announced two years ago that Toni Mphephu is the rightful heir to the Vhavenda kingship. After the announcement, several high-ranking royal families, which included the Vhangona, Mphaphuli, Tshivhase and Ravhura, took the matter to court.

The Pretoria High Court made a ruling this year and confirmed Toni Mphephu as king of the Vhavenda.

After the ruling, the contending families kept quiet over the decision of the court, but during a recent celebration to thank all who had given King Toni Mphephu support during his court battle, many chiefs and senior chiefs from all over Vhembe were present.

Conspicuous by their absence were all the contenders to the throne.

Reacting after the announcement and on behalf of the Vhavenda king, Toni Mphephu, senior advisor to the king Mr Jackson Mafunzwaini said the king had made a pronouncement during the celebrations at Dzanani to invite all the Vhavenda to come on board and make their contributions towards the development of the Vhavenda nation.

"The king is still making a call to those who are left that they are welcome to come and make a meaningful contribution towards the development of all the Vhavenda," said Mafunzwaini.

News - Date: 12 October 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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