LUYENGWENI WANT TO MEET LIQOQO ON VERDICT

MBABANE  – Luyengweni residents are eager to meet Liqoqo concerning the verdict against Luyengweni Chief Lembelele Dlamini.

Chief Lembelele was last week fined 10 cattle for allegedly defying an order stopping him from claiming jurisdiction over Mhlabubovu area. The residents of the area, mostly from the Motsa clan, shared that they wanted audience with the author of the verdict to get the reasons behind fining the chief. “We were disappointed by Liqoqo Chairman Paul Dlamini’s failure to comment when interviewed by the Times of Eswatini concerning the verdict last week. We were not expecting a ‘no comment’ from a chairman of a higher authority. We believe that a chairman should state the analysis of evidence and the reasons leading to a verdict,” said Stan Motsa, who forms part of the Motsa clan. He said the failure by the chairman to state the reasons publicly when asked, meant that the council owed them an explanation. “We cannot pay allegiance to LaMgabhi Royal Kraal with the verdict without reasons.  Such verdicts will set a bad precedent as it would mean the councils can to change the King’s verdict as they please,” Motsa said.

Mhlabubovu elders shared that they were not prepared to pay allegiance to a royal kraal they had never been to since birth. They said there had been many verdicts in many forums where King Sobhuza’s letter was considered. “We were once stopped from burying Gogo Buza at Mhlabubovu. However, the High Court ruled in our favour on the basis of the King’s letter,” said an elderly relative of the deceased.

 ... late TV Mtetwa accused in death

MBABANE – The sad thing about death is that it silences people forever, making them unable to respond to accusations made against them. The late Acting Ludzidzini Governor Timothy Velabo Mtetwa has been accused by the residents of Mhlabubovu of being at the centre of controversy, which resulted in the unending dispute between LaMgabhi and Luyengweni Royal Kraal. The two chiefdoms have been embroiled in a land dispute since 1945, despite verdicts aimed at ending the land squabble. At the time, LaMgabhi was under the leadership of the then Chief Ndzimanye, while Luyengweni Royal Kraal was under the then Chief Mandanda Mtetwa and Indvuna Mbutfo Makhubu.

The residents of Mhlabubovu believed strongly that the peace that prevailed after King Sobhuza II had declared the area to be outside the jurisdiction of LaMgabhi on November 11, 1947, would not have been disturbed, had it not been for TV’s alleged controversial character. The residents mentioned that the letter was confirmed by King Sobhuza II’s Private Secretary Abednego Kuseni (AK) Hlophe. The letter purportedly written by the King, who was a paramount chief at the time, read: “I learn that there had been a squabble over land boundary line between Chief Ndzimanye’s followers and the late Hulumeni’s sons, resulting in the injuring of two persons. I am to state that the land in dispute is outside Chief Ndzimanye’s area.”
In a documentary that had been shared to this publication, the Motsa clan, who were the first settlers at Mhlabubovu, said the late Mtetwa was well-versed with the history of the area as a successor of his father, but allegedly decided to sell them to LaMgabhi Royal Kraal.

They stated that Timothy was heard accusing the Motsa clan of claiming jurisdiction over Mhlabubovu during a meeting held by the inner council at Zombodze Royal Kraal.
However, the residents said Prince Mgosholi, who served King Sobhuza II with loyalty, set the record straight that the clan never claimed jurisdiction over the land as alleged by Timothy.
The mentioned that Prince Mgosholi then handed over the copy of the letter that was written by King Sobhuza II in 1947. “Uma abona lencwadzi umntfwanendvuna (TV) wekhuta umhlolo, asho nekusho kutsi ngeke kuphatanyiswe lokwajutjwa yinkhosi. Wabese ubeka lilanga lapho khona atewumikisa libandla laseLuyengweni kaLobamba,” reads the documentary.

Council

The residents stated that Timothy led them to Lobamba, where they were attended to by a council led by Vusumuzi Bhembe. It was their claim that when Bhembe saw the letter from King Sobhuza II, he stated clearly that he would not say any word on issues where there was the King’s signature. They stated that Bhembe left, resulting in the meeting being dismissed. They stated that Prince Mgosholi then shared that the King sent him to warn Chief Ndzimanye against provoking the residents of Mhlabubovu. The documentary reflected that the prince told Chief Ndzimanye that the King stated that he would return to his place of origin if he continued to provoke the residents of Mhlabubovu.

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