PA’s Kunene pledges support for aggrieved Bataung ba Hlalele tribe

By: Sello Theletsane

The Patriotic Alliance has vowed to support the struggle of the Bataung ba Hlalele tribe in Maboloka, outside Brits in North West.

On Saturday PA deputy president Kenny Kunene told thousands of community members gathered outside the village community hall that his party would support their struggle for the recognition of King Emmanuel Lion as the rightful leader of Bataung ba Hlalele tribe.

The chieftaincy of Bataung ba Hlalele tribe is in a protracted legal battle on who is the rightful custodian of traditional leadership in Maboloka village. David Ndei Tsajoa, has been locked in a long battle with Lehlomela Emmanuel Lion over whose father was the rightful leader. After the death of Chief David Mohau Lion in 2008, David Tsajoa approached the Commission for Traditional Disputes and Claims for chieftaincy away from the Lion family.

The commission determined that the rightful leader of Maboloka was David Tsajoa, whose father Philemon was reportedly deposed for antagonizing the repressive Lucas Mangope regime. The announcement that the Tsajoas were the rightful leaders was informed by recommendations of the Commission on Traditional Disputes and Claims which had established that the first traditional leader in Maboloka after the establishment of Maboloka Tribal Authority in 1961 was John Mota Tsajoa. However, the Lion family took the matter to court and were reinstated, but subsequent to this a series of court cases were lodged.

In August 2019, the North West High Court in Mahikeng declared that the Lion family should be removed as a traditional leader of the Bataung ba Hlalele tribe and that the Tsajoa family was the rightful custodian of the chieftaincy. This sparked outrage which led to protests by thousands of community members who accused the courts and government of imposing leadership on them.

On Saturday (9 July), in an act of defiance, thousands of community members gathered at a ceremony in the village where Emmanuel Lion was officially installed as the King of Bataung ba Hlalele. The ceremony was presided over by high-profile traditional leaders from across the country.

Lion Royal Family spokesperson said Saturday’s ceremony was aimed at celebrating the culture of Bataung ba Hlalele and also inaugurating King Emmanuel Lion as “the rightful custodian of our culture”. Pali added: “We have our own land and the title deed and this puts us in a position to determine who should be our leader. We are doing what our ancestors taught us.” Pali said the tribe’s troubles started after the apartheid regime banished their leader King Solomon Lion to Mount Frere in 1953 and replaced him with apartheid regime stooge John Tsajoe. “This was imposition of leadership on Bataung ba Hlalele by the apartheid regime which was hell-bent on punishing our leader for fighting for the liberation of his people. And this remains the case under the current government. Since then we have never known peace.”

“Because we have our own land, and the title deed, we are doing what we think is right for us. On Saturday we were celebrating our culture, and for the culture to be preserved, we installed our king who will be, and has been the custodian of our culture.” Pali said Saturdays ceremony was the inauguration of the rightful custodian of the culture of Bataung ba Hlalele, who is the reigning King Emmanuel Lion.

The ceremony was also attended by Patriotic Alliance’s North West provincial leadership led by Kunene who told the gathering that his party would do everything in its power to see to it that their desire to be led by the leader of their choice is realised.

Kunene, who congratulated Lion on being installed as the rightful leader of Bataung ba Hlalele, said: “We are fully behing Bataung ba Hlalele tribe, who were stripped off their right to determine their own leadership by the apartheid regime and successive ANC governments post 1994 said Kunene who was cheered loudly by the crowd.

“It’s a shame that even the so-called democratic government we have today, is guilty of imposing leadership on you instead of allowing you to determine who should lead you. This is the kind of injustice we will not allow and we will be with you in your fight. What you are doing today is the defiance of demonic, satanic apartheid prime minister DF Malan who had absolutely no right to determine who the leader of the natives should be. I applaud you for also defying that uninformed commission for traditional disputes.”

In his response, King Emmanuel Lion thanked Kunene and the PA for their support and warned them that he will watch and hold them to their word.