South Africa's top appeal court said the traditional monarch should report to prison within the next 48 hours, upholding his conviction for arson, kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice.
King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo
A South African king, Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, from Nelson Mandela's Thembu ethnic group, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison by the South African Supreme Court of Appeals for a series of charges including kidnapping, assault and arson.
The charges relate to a dispute he had with some of his subjects more than two decades ago. He was accused of kidnapping a woman and her six children, setting their home on fire and beating up four youths, one of whom died, because one of their relatives had failed to present himself before the kings's traditional court.
The SCA was unimpressed with the time it took for this matter to be resolved and blamed Dalindyebo for the delays. It revealed that he has changed lawyers 11 times, leading to more than 30 postponements, in a bid to avoid prison.
"His behaviour was all the more deplorable because the victims of his reign of terror were the vulnerable rural poor, who were dependent upon him," the SCA said in its ruling.
Reports says that the king has never denied the charges but believed his actions were in line with disciplining his subjects.
Chief Simphiwe Pantshwa, from the aba Thembu royal family, told the BBC:
"We are very shocked. He is a senior member of the royal family so there is a big sense of loss and uncertainty. We knew to expect anything but the news that he will not be coming home came as a shock.
"He is a senior member of the royal family so there is a big sense of loss and uncertainty. We do not want this to destabilise the royal house so we will be watching the developments with keen interest," he said.
Dalindyebo has two days to report to prison. With the seat soon to be vacant they are expected to look at appointing a new successor, who is likely to be the king's 23-year-old son.
Source: BBC Africa