SACP welcomes incarceration of king
The imprisonment of AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo was a lesson to other leaders, the SACP said.
|||Rustenburg - The imprisonment of King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo of the AbaThembu in the Eastern Cape, was a reminder to all leaders that their responsibility was to serve and protect the people, the South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Eastern Cape said on Thursday.
Provincial SACP spokesperson, Siyabonga Mdodi said the SACP noted and welcomed the incarceration of the king.
Dalindyebo was jailed this week, following numerous legal challenges and a last-minute petition, for a number of crimes committed against some of his subjects, whom Mdodi said, he was supposed to have led, served and protected.
“We view this as a triumph of justice for the poor and the vulnerable when up against the brutalities of the mighty and powerful. It is also an important development that entrenches the principle of equality before the law as enshrined in the constitution of our country. In the principles and values espoused in our constitution there is no exception regardless of power and influence.”
He said the imprisonment of King Dalindyebo would be a reminder to all leaders that their responsibility was to serve and protect the people not to reign tyranny upon them.
“It should also serve as the reminder to all of us to keep our leaders accountable and of greater service to the people.
“Any leader with no exception of the Kings should serve the people and protect them at any given time. That should be done with the understanding that there is no one who is above the law even those born as leaders. We are of the firm view that none of us are born as subjects of anybody, therefore the dangers of regarding people as mere subjects is that you will treat them with gross disrespect and abuse them.”
The Mthatha High Court had ordered that Dalindyebo hand himself over following his conviction and sentence for crimes that date back to the 1990s.
He had exhausted all legal appeals and failed with a last-minute petition to the justice minister (Michael Masutha) on Tuesday. He started serving his 12-year sentence on Wednesday before midnight.
“Let us unite against the rise of tribalism as it is a threat to the unity of our country and that of our movement whose foundation was to unite the people irrespective of tribes. People should also remember that this is the same king who tried to establish a state within South Africa in an attempt to escape the consequences of his crimes.”
He called on the AbaThembu nation and the people in general to give their full support to the victims of the king’s crimes in a bid to restore their dignity and their rights.
The South African Civic Organisation (Sanco), meanwhile, welcomed the statement by the Ngangelizwe Royal Family expressing its intention to rebuild its relation with victims and their families of King Dalindyebo’s alleged reign of terror.
“We are encouraged by the commitment and hope that it would translate into practical action that we have called for to be taken towards restorative justice and compensation for those who suffered human rights violations, loss of livestock and properties as a result of atrocities that King Dalindyebo was found guilty of,” said national spokesperson, Jabu Mahlangu.
African News Agency