Listen to this article.
- Land Reform Minister Nyhontso told King Misuzulu he will dissolve the Ingonyama Trust board, calling it “rogue”, at eMashobeni Palace.
- Ingonyama Trust deputy chair Linda Zama says a March court order blocks the minister. Its term ends in five months.
Land Reform Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso has told King Misuzulu kaZwelithini he will dissolve the Ingonyama Trust board, a move a court ruled unlawful in March.
Nyhontso made the announcement on Saturday night at eMashobeni Royal Palace in Pongola.
He said he had told Parliament’s land committee the same thing.
“I will never work with this board over my dead body because they are rogue,” he said.
“Your Majesty, we are going to dissolve this board. The board has four members left and the contracts of the other two are coming to an end this month. So it would be left with only two members, which means that thing is dying a natural death,” he said.
He said he has told the director-general to dissolve it, and asked the King’s go-ahead to advertise the vacant posts.
He wants “a board that has no politicians, because the current one is full of politicians,” and said the King and traditional leaders would recommend the names.
The Pietermaritzburg High Court ruled in March that his earlier dissolution was unlawful and outside his powers. The court reinstated the board and ordered both the minister and the King not to interfere with it.
Nyhontso’s reason then was also that too few members were left to make a quorum.
Board deputy chair Advocate Linda Zama told Scrolla.Africa the Minister cannot touch the board, because that order still stands.
Advocate Linda Zama of the Board told Scrolla. Africa that the Minister cannot touch them because the court order of 26 March against him to dissolve the board is still standing.
“That rogue unit applies the laws of this country in every work.We receive a R24 million budget every year from the government and we are guided by the PFMA [Public Finance Management Act] on every cent we spend. Unfortunately that act has never been amended till today this means we are rogues that work according to the laws of this country.
“Another thing there is a court interdict that barred the Minister from dissolving this board that was delivered by the court on 26 March 2026. This means he can’t touch us whether he likes it or not. All we are waiting for now is for the end of our term which is in five months and we are having a very good sleep for the work we have done for the Trust,” said Advocate Zama.
King Misuzulu kaBhekuzulu, who chairs the board, welcomed the decision.
During the meeting, Nyhontso told the King the board tried to block a report by Advocate Marumo Moerane, commissioned after the King complained. He said he is also investigating the Trust’s summit that the King’s regiments disrupted.
He also promised the King government does not plan to expropriate Zulu land, “the only land that is left in the hands of black people in South Africa.”
This article has been updated with a response from the Ingonyama Trust Board Deputy Chairperson.
