Chieftaincy war heats up; residents now take sides

THE war between hosi Ngove (Penny Mabunda) and Famanda Chavalala from Siyandhani village in Giyani has taken a new twist, with residents now taking sides in the matter.

Last Thursday, the residents of Siyandhani village travelled in six buses to the office of the premier in Polokwane to hand over a memorandum of their grievances against Ngove, whom they say prevented development in their village.

The memorandum also requests that premier Stanley Mathabatha ensures Chavalala is confirmed as the rightful chief of Siyandhani village once the Kgatla commission, which is reportedly investigating 568 traditional leadership disputes, has finalised its investigation.

“We want the premier to ensure Chavalala is recognised as the chief so that we can have development in our village, which is currently on hold because of the fights,” Fumani wa Phiri, the spokesperson of Siyandhani Youth, said.

“We also want Chavalala’s salary to be reinstated, since he is the one who we recognise as our chief, not Ngove,” he added.

The memorandum gives the premier 21 days to respond, failing which residents will march to president Jacob Zuma’s office to deliver the memorandum.

The fight between the two leaders began around 2011 when Ngove apparently stopped a project worth R10,9 million.

The project reportedly entailed the building of a tribal office that would house several government service departments, including a clinic.

Ngove apparently stopped the development on the grounds that he was not consulted, even though the village fell under his jurisdiction.

The funds for this project would apparently have come from a land claim that Chavalala had won on behalf of Siyandhani community. He had reportedly chosen to build a tribal office for the benefit of the community, instead of sharing it among the beneficiaries.

At the time, Ngove argued that Chavalala was not a chief but a headman who reported to him and therefore he should have sought approval from him for any development in the village.

Mediation by the then deputy minister for rural development and land reform, Thembelani Nxesi, failed to yield an outcome.

Chavalala, who continued to rebel against Ngove after the mediation, had his salary stopped by Ngove. In retaliation, Chavalala removed two headmen in his village that were reporting to Ngove and put in his own men instead.

On Friday, Ngove dismissed the march to the premier’s office as the work of a small group of people who had ulterior motives. “To prove that point just go there and interview the people on the ground, you will realise that people are suffering under headman Siyandhani,” he said.

In response, Phiri said these allegations were all lies.

“All we’re fighting for is our right to have development in our village, which Ngove has stopped.

What is surprising though, is that according to our tradition, the chieftaincy does not cross a river stream, so we wonder how he came to be our chief while he lives on the other side of the river,” he said.