The premier of Limpopo, Mr Cassel Mathale, has warned traditional leaders in Vhembe to stop the illegal installation of chiefs and headmen in their areas.

Mathale was addressing senior Vhavenda chiefs during a courtesy visit to Khosikhulu Toni Mphephu Ramabulana on Friday. Conspicuously absent were the Tshivhase and the Mphaphuli royal families. The two were strong contenders during the Vhavenda kingship battle.

Mphaphuli has gone on record and publicly announced that he will support Mphephu as king of the Vhavenda.

During the visit, which took place at the king's guesthouse in Dzanani, Mathale handed over a chair and other furniture which had beenused by Khosikhulu Toni Mphephu's late father, Khosikhulu Patrick Mphephu, while he was president of the erstwhile Republic of Venda.

Mathale called on traditional leaders to follow the law when installing chiefs and headmen to avoid friction in the communities. “All people who engage in processes of installing people as chiefs and indunas should follow the law as set down by the provincial government. Those that are not done according to the law should be stopped as they will create problems for the government and the community in the long run,” said Mathale. He also said those appointed in an unlawful manner would not be recognized by the government.

Mathale told those gathered that a task team has been established to look into the needs of the kings of the Vhavenda and Bapedi. Issues that the task team will look into are security, offices, transport and other logistics for the king.

“We know the constraints you are dealing with, because the king has been recognised and has a certificate. Nothing has changed; he is still using the old office and other amenities which do not befit his stature as king. We are working very hard to finalize what is due to him and he himself should be proud when he meets other kings. If you are a king in Venda, you must not see the difference between yourself and a king in other parts of the country like Kwazulu Natal and the Eastern Cape,” said Mathale.

Thovhele Mafharalala Wilfred Netsianda said as traditional leaders they were surprised to see so many chiefs and headmen being installed by other leaders in the area. “We are still surprised by the number of chiefs being installed , but we suspected that somebody wanted to make himself king. We are happy today that the matter was clarified, that these installations are illegal and that they will not be recognized by the government,” he said.

In response, King Toni Mphephu said he was honoured to have a visit by the premier, who also brought him some memorabilia in the form of furniture used by his late father. “We are greatly humbled to have received these things, but we are still waiting for the helicopter that my father used. I have a piece of turf ready where it will land and I will employ people to look after it,” he said jokingly.

He thanked the government for recognising the Ramabulana family as kings and giving it the respect it deserves.

Two weeks ago, the Limpopo House of Traditional leaders and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs issued a condemnation on what they termed illegal installations of traditional leaders in Vhembe.