A court case to settle the matter of the chieftaincy will be heard in the High Court soon. According to Kgosi Malatjie, his family was allegedly robbed of their position during the reign of his great-grandfather, Kgoshi Lesetha Matome Malatjie. He believes that in 1922 a group of the Shai people from Tubatse, also known as the Mashishimales, settled in the Ba-Phalaborwa area and were given refuge by the then Malatjie chief. The Shai leader, who was literate, became the righthand man of the Malatjie chief and acted as messenger and secretary of the royal house.

In 1940, when Kgosi Mankere (of the Malatjie people) died, misunderstandings within the royal family resulted in the village being left without a chief. They say Shai allegedly capitalised on the situation. According to them the fact that the family had taken him as a brother-in-law, Shai allegedly stole the name of the regent, Kgosi “chief” Mankere. Shai reportedly was popular and occupied the Malatjie chieftaincy. After 1994 the Malatjie family embarked on a campaign to reclaim their position and sent applications to the Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements, and Traditional Affairs (COGSTHA).

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However, in 2017 the department rejected their application stating that they have voluntarily relinquished their chieftaincy to the Shai people. “There is no way we gave our royal heritage to these people. “They are from Tubatse, how did they become chiefs in the Ba-Phalaborwa area, it does not make sense?” Kgosi Malatjie told the Herald. According to the family, some of the current reigning chiefs in the Ba-Phalaborwa region are Makhushane, Maseke, Selwane, and Mashishimale (Shai/Tubatse).

They claim that the Makhushane, Maseke, and Selwane are also of Malatjie descent and have the same genealogy. The Herald spoke to Mapogo Malatji Selwane from the Selwane Tribal Authority who supported Kgosi Malatjie’s version. “We are family, they are our elders. How can COGSTHA acknowledge us as a traditional house and fail to acknowledge them, it doesn’t make sense to me?” he asked. The Malatjie family has promised to continue their quest of claiming their throne back at all costs.

The Herald contacted the Mashishimale Tribal House for comment. Mosibutsana Audrey Shayi, the regent of Bashayi Ditlou Tribal Council Batubatse, said they will not comment as the matter is sub judice. The Herald asked COGSTHA about the matter, but at the time of going to print, no response was received.