A storm is brewing in the Bapedi kingdom with a senior member of the royal family challenging the appointment of former Limpopo premier Ngoako Ramatlhodi as traditional prime minister.
Ramatlhodi was installed as the prime minister in December last year in Sandton, Johannesburg.
However, the former president of the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa, Setlamorago Thobejane, is disputing the appointment and is also preparing to challenge a court decision to appoint Manyaku Thulare as the regent.
Thobejane said the majority of the Bapedi nation, including some members of the royal house, do not recognise Ramatlhodi as their prime minister.
He accused Ramatlhodi and some members of the royal family of trying to emulate the Zulu nation for having a traditional prime minister.
Thobejane told Sunday World he represents the Marota Royal House as a descendant of King Thulare, who died in 1824.
Thobejane was banished from GaSekhukhune in 2020 by the late King Victor Thulare III before he died of Covid-19-related complications.
Insiders from the royal house said Thulare ordered Thobejane not to set foot ever again in
GaSekhukhune because he was allegedly causing ructions in the royal house.
“His appointment is nothing but the capture of the Bapedi kingdom, and that cannot be allowed.
“It even raises questions about why the announcement of his appointment was done in Sandton whereas we have the royal palace in Sekhukhune,” Thobejane said.
“We as the Marota Royal House, the core customary institution and custodians of the Bapedi kingdom, were not properly informed about the appointment of Ramatlhodi as the prime minister of the Bapedi nation, and our kingdom doesn’t have a prime minister position.
“He has no royal blood, and, therefore, we unequivocally declare his appointment as null and void,” he said.
Thobejane has also disputed the legitimacy of Manyaku Thulare as the legitimate queen of the Bapedi.
In December last year, the Limpopo High Court declared Thulare as the officially recognised acting queen of the Bapedi.
He said Limpopo High Court judge president George Phatudi was hasty in applying the Roman-Dutch common law to make a ruling that she be declared the queen.
“We are preparing ourselves to go back to the high court to challenge that ruling. That decision has to be a unanimous one taken by senior members of the royal house,” Thobejane said.
Ramatlhodi said he had learnt about Thobejane disputing his position as the prime minister.
“I did not apply for this position. I was approached by the queen mother [Manyaku] to offer my services in the Bapedi kingdom.
The queen sent a delegation of senior members of the royal family, and I was introduced to the traditional council. I feel very honoured to have been appointed to this position,” he said.
Ramatlhodi conceded that he is not related to the royal house.
“I am not related to anyone in the royal house. I am of the Bakwena lineage, whose roots are in Botswana,” he said.
Ramatlhodi said he was not bothered by Thobejane opposing his position.
“I am not going to spend sleepless nights worrying about Thobejane. I know that there are other people in the house who are also opposing my appointment … that’s normal,” he said.
The spokesperson for the Bapedi Royal House, Mampuru Sekoati, said the kingdom would not entertain any public speeches by Thobejane.
“Thobejane and his people can never choose for her Majesty who she should appoint as her chief advisor. We have instructed our lawyers to deal with defamatory statements he has been making in public,” he said.
“Thobejane is currently nobody in the structures of the royal family in Sekhukhune. We wish to state categorically that there is no such thing as Marota Royal House.
“We don’t know how it is constituted. Thobejane is trying to lobby for himself to become the prime minister, and that will never happen,” Sekoati said.
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