THOHOYANDOU - The twenty-eight traditional leaders who submitted the proposal to the Premier's Office in support of Thovhele Toni Mphephu Ramabulana's being king of the Venda tribe, were left in the cold, when one traditional leader, Thovhele Musiiwa Gole Mphaphuli, declared himself as king or one of the prominent kings in Venda, last Saturday.

Mphaphuli claims that his forefathers were kings, not followers. After the Royal Council of Mphaphuli had discussed the issue of the Venda kingship, they said that the status of Mphaphuli is that of a king and not that of a chief. They are not disputing that Thovhele Mphephu is a king, but he is the king of the Mphephu dynasty, in the same way as Thovhele Midiyavhathu Tshivhase of the Tshivhase dynasty.

"Although the Mphaphuli clan came from Dzata, where Toni Mphephu Ramabulana roars, his fathers never paid tribute to Mphephu, but they established themselves as they are today," said Magwedzha Mphaphuli.

Historically, Mphaphuli was one of the three great leaders, with Mphephu and Tshivhase, who led the Venda tribe in the 18th century.

Mr Magwedzha Mphaphuli, the spokesperson of the Mphaphuli dynasty, said Thovhele Gole Mphaphuli wanted to retain that status of kingship.

He further said it is possible to have three kings in Venda, "like in the Eastern Cape where there are seven kings," said Magwedzha. It is only in Kwa-Zulu Natal that there is one king (Goodwill Zwelithini).

All the Makhotsi-munene and Khadzi's of the Mphaphuli tribe supported the move. The reason why Mphaphuli declared himself as king is that they have vast lands, like the Tshivhase and the Mphephu. Previously, the Mphaphulis' portion of land stretched to Giyani, where there is a mountain called Madzivhanombe. In the Kruger National Park there is the area called Mphaphuli, which the whites couldn't pronounce properly and called Pafuri.

All the major towns, like Thohoyandou and Makwarela, are under Thovhele Mphaphuli's jurisdiction.

They have more than fifty chiefs who are recognized by the government and they are receiving salaries monthly. During the apartheid government's reign, more chiefs under Mphaphuli were promoted to the status of Thovhele, without any consultation with the ruling "king".

"There are some Shangaan chiefs whose origins are from the Mphaphuli tribe," said Thovhele Gole Mphaphuli.

Thovhele Mphaphuli joined the popular traditional leader, Kennedy Midiyavhathu Tshivhase, who never allowed the paying of tribute to the proposed king, Toni Mphephu Ramabulana.

The twenty-eight traditional leaders who supported Toni Mphephu to be king blamed Gen Gabriel Ramuswana for ruling out the kingship of the Vha-Venda when he took over and led it militarily. Even some payments to the Chiefs were frozen during the reign of Ramuswana.