By Anton van Zyl and Elmon Tshikhudo

The Vhavenda royal palace will have to prepare for a bleak festive season. Earlier this week, the High Court dismissed an application to force the provincial government to appoint an interim ruler. This effectively means that the staff members working at the royal household will go without salaries for many more months, while the succession battle plays out in the courts.

To add insult to injury, the companies appointed by the Department of Co-operative Government, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (Coghsta) to deliver services to the royal house are seemingly not affected by this void in leadership. In December last year, Coghsta appointed a company, Vhunene Construction and Projects, to provide security services to the former Vhavenda ruler, Toni Mphephu Ramabulana. The tender amount was just over R5,7 million and specified that Ramabulana was to be protected at his two households, one in Louis Trichardt and one at the official palace in Dzanani.

Last month, the spokesperson of the MEC for Coghsta, Mr Hitekani Magwedzi, was asked about the security contract and also who was to be protected, seeing that Toni Mphephu Ramabulana’s appointment as king had been declared unconstitutional. “The security appointed is now providing security service to another traditional council at a level of the Kingship,” he responded. When he was questioned as to exactly who was to be protected now and whether the contract had been amended, Magwedzi was very evasive and provided no detail. “It is as per the advertised tender,” he responded.

To act or not to act?

The Mphephu Ramabulana Royal Family opted to approach the Thohoyandou division of the Limpopo High Court in October to force the Premier and the MEC for Coghsta to appoint an interim ruler. Since the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2021 that Toni Mphephu could not serve as acting king, a void in the leadership existed. In the beginning of this year, Coghsta also stopped payments to staff members at the royal palace.

The matter served before Judge AML Phatudi at the end of November. In the Heads of Argument, the royal family argue that the delay in appointing Mavhungu David Mphephu as acting king is unreasonable and untenable. His name was forwarded by the royal family as the ideal person who can serve in the position as leader while the battle in court plays out.

“The delay in recognising the Acting King of Vhavenda … until the finalisation of the High Court matter is affecting the proper functioning and integrity of the office of Kingship of Vhavenda,” the court papers read.

The royal family’s application was opposed by the Premier and the MEC, as well as by one of the main contenders for the leadership position, Masindi Clementine Mphephu. In their replying affidavit, the Premier and MEC say that they cannot appoint an interim ruler as a dispute still existed between the royal family’s members.

Masindi Mphephu’s legal team raised similar objections, saying that the court first needed to rule on various matters before any leader could be identified.

No, you cannot appoint anyone

In his ruling that was made available on Tuesday, Judge Phatudi was clearly not convinced of the urgency (or semi-urgency) of the matter. The applicants argued that the matter is “semi-urgent” and the court papers referred to the fact that, among others, staff members were not being paid. The judge pointed out that the rules of the court did not make provision for semi-urgent matters and as such should be dismissed.

Judge Phatudi, however, said that the application was flawed because it went against the clear instructions given by the Constitutional Court. “It is common cause that one of the issues for the determination under case number 773/2012 is the identification and recognition of a person as a Queen or King of [the] Vha-Venda community. It is clear that the Supreme Court of Appeal indicated that that should not be determined, not even in acting capacity, pending finalisation of the review application,” he said.

In a surprise twist, the judge made a cost order against the Premier (first respondent) and the MEC (second respondent). “The first and second respondents failed, if not, it skipped their minds to inform the applicant of the caveat created by the Higher Courts, more especially, the Supreme Court of Appeal, that no one shall be recognised, even in an acting capacity, pending finalisation of the review application,” he said.

The spokesperson for the royal family, Ntsieni Ramabulana, said on Wednesday that they were very disappointed with the judgment. “We are still studying the judgement, and we will sit with our lawyers. There is a strong possibility that we will take the matter on appeal, hoping that another judge would reach a different conclusion,” he said.