The fight over who should be the rightful heir of the Bakgatla ba Kgafela in Moruleng, North West, appears to be far from over. But despite the feud among the royal family, the majority are rallying with the current chief, Nyalala Pilane, who was reinstated by the North West premier last month.
Pilane’s recognition by premier Lazarus Mokgosi has pleased the royal family of Moruleng.
They say they welcome Pilane’s reinstatement and recognition.
Royal family lauds premier’s gesture
Royal family spokesperson Morena Segale Pilane said the development reverses the arbitrary decisions by Mokgosi’s predecessors, Job Mokgoro and Bushy Maape.
“Their decisions were based on a resolution of a foreign entity. And their actions were clearly engineered to create a colony of a special type for Bakgatla-ba-Kgafela in Moruleng, abandoning their oath of office in the process,” said Pilane in a statement.
Pilane said the two former premiers’ actions were an act of constitutional delinquency. An act aimed at denying Bakgatla-ba-Kgafela in Moruleng their sovereignty and rights.
Perverted political plan
“The royal family is of the view that there was a perverted political plan. And it was deliberately hatched and designed to obliterate our identity, our customary structures. It… was meant to plunge Bakgatla-ba- Kgafela in Moruleng into a state of social instability and conflict.
“Regrettably, some of our stakeholders were implicit in this unlawful act,” said Pilane.
He said these authoritarian decisions have had far-reaching negative implications for the development and prosperity of the community.
“Instead of protecting the very community that propelled them into positions of power through the movement of our people, they chose to work with a fugitive from the law to throw Bakgatla-ba-Kgafela in Moruleng into a state of lawlessness in order to advance his nonsensical extraterritorial claims.”
Wants deposed chief’s nationality probed, deported
The royal family said they have called on South African authorities, especially the Department of Home Affairs.
They want it to investigate how Kgafela Kgafela obtained a South African identity document. And added that it was a serious breach of the Immigration Act.
“We further call upon authorities to apprehend and deport him to his country of origin. South Africa cannot be reduced to a banana republic by this individual. He clearly has no regard for our laws despite his status in the country.
“So desperate and devious was the intention of the previous premiers, that they unleashed the SAPS on us. To violently seize the offices of the community in order to impose a foreign Kgosi on us,” said Pilane.
Addressing Bakgatla virtually from Moruleng last month, Kgafela II said the reinstatement of Nyalala was a betrayal. He also threatened legal action to challenge the decision.
