By Celani Sikhakhane
Inkosi Thanduyise Mzimela has been revealed as the new chairperson of the Ingonyama Trust board, and Judge Jerome Ngwenya is out.
King Misuzulu kaZwelithini announced the change on Tuesday to traditional leaders and is expected to brief his traditional prime minister, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, over the new appointment.
The meeting was held at the Old Legislature in Ulundi in the absence of Buthelezi.
Ngwenya has been the board’s longest-serving chairperson, having served since 2000. He was appointed by the late King Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu five years after the establishment of the trust, which administers about three million hectares of land in KwaZulu-Natal. The king is the sole trustee.
Speaking to Scrolla.Africa, Ngwenya said that although he has not been officially informed, he heard that the king had announced the appointment of Mzimela at the meeting held in Ulundi.
“Remember that the king has the last word. I am now waiting to be officially informed about this,” he said.
As he prepares for his way out, he doesn’t have any plans to return to his previous job as a judge.
“I’ve got a lot of work that is waiting for me, so going back to the bench of judges is not an option for me. My plan is to play a legal advisory role in the legal fraternity and write books,” he said.
The removal of Ngwenya comes amid allegations that some politicians were behind it, including Thoko Didiza, Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.
Ngwenya was removed while still fighting with Didiza over the delayed appointment of the Ingonyama Trust board.
Ngwenya was also at loggerheads with the government over its failure to pay the R3 billion rent owed by different departments to the trust.
Last month King Misuzulu kaZwelithini called a special meeting in Durban between Ngwenya and Mzimela over the confusion that was created by rumours of Ngwenya’s removal.
Traditional leaders also raised complaints that they were not informed about the changes that were taking place in the appointment of the Ingonyama Trust board chairperson.
Pictured above: The outgoing chairperson of the Ingonyama Trust board, Judge Jerome Ngwenya, and the newly appointed Inkosi Thanduyise Mzimela.
Image source: Supplied
