The protracted battle for the soul of the Vha-Venda throne resumed at the Limpopo High Court on Monday, pitting dethroned king Toni Mphephu- Ramabulana against his niece, Princess Masindi Mphephu-Ramabulana.
The Vha-Venda throne became vacant after Masindi successfully challenged her paternal uncle Toni in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein in 2017.
The SCA then removed him from the throne after his reign that spanned more than two decades.
For someone to ascend to the throne to become a king, the candidate must meet certain requirements and be chosen by the aunts and uncles of the royal family. The chosen king will be introduced to the ancestors and be conferred the royal insignia
— Toni Mphephu- Ramabulana
Toni made a grand entrance into a packed courtroom full of his supporters who argued that the Venda kingship should be in the hands of a male king, according to customary practice.
When he took the stand, Toni argued that Masindi cannot ascend to the throne as she was born at the time when her father was not yet a king and that her mother, Fhulufhelo, was not a candle wife.
“For someone to ascend to the throne to become a king, the candidate must meet certain requirements and be chosen by the aunts and uncles of the royal family. The chosen king will be introduced to the ancestors and be conferred the royal insignia,” he told the court.
During cross-examination, Masindi’s legal representative, Adv Alan Dodson, put it to the former king that some members of the Mphephu- Ramabulana royal family are not agreeing with Masindi’s ascension to the throne on the basis of her gender.
Dodson also submitted that his client is the rightful heir to the throne as she was the first-born child of late king Tshimangadzo (Dimbanyika) Mphephu-Ramabulana, who died in a car accident in 1997.
Tshimangadzo died when Masindi was only six years old – too young to preside over the kingdom. Dodson argued that Masindi was sidelined from the throne on the basis of her gender.
“Masindi is merely excluded from the throne because she is a woman. This cultural practice denies Masindi her birthright as the first born of the late king to succeed her father,” Dodson said.
The proceedings are continuing.
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