The family of suspended Ntabazinduna traditional leader, Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni, has come to the defence of the underfire chief saying he was selected by his own people as per tradition.
The outspoken traditional leader was last week suspended as Ntabazinduna chief at a Matabeleland North traditional leaders’ provincial assembly held in Bulawayo with the meeting suggesting that his selection violated tradition since his elder brother was still alive.
Head of the Xhosa Royal Council in Zimbabwe, Prince MacLeod Tshawe Nonxoloba, however, backed Ndiweni saying that he was chosen by the people and that the government should not interfere. He said:
Chief Ndiweni is a chief because he was chosen by the people of Ndiweni and to us in the Xhosa community ithole lenkuzi likhethwa ngabazali balo lapha ekhaya (the bull is chosen from the calves by their owners) not an outsider. If the chief has been chosen by other people who are not in the family, that is unacceptable in our community.
Meanwhile, the president of Zimbabwe is empowered by Constitution to appoint, remove and suspend chiefs on the recommendation of the provincial assembly of chiefs through the National Council of Chiefs and the minister of local government and in accordance with the traditional practices and traditions of the communities concerned.
Ndiweni has been very critical of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration.
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