A Zimbabwean judge tossed out the regent chief appointment for Zanele Khumalo after her family called the whole process sketchy and said officials railroaded the decision without proper input from the Mabhikwa-Khumalo clan. Justice Mposeni Dube sent the case back to the National Chiefs Council because courts cannot handle chief appointments under the law, and the selection violated customary procedures that were supposed to follow a 2009 ruling.
John Mabhikwa Khumalo led 32 relatives against Zanele getting the regent spot after Chief Vusumuzi Khumalo died, arguing the chieftaincy never went to women in their lineage and pointing out she married into the Ndlovu family. The applicants said government reps forced the ceremony at the wrong location and created two parallel acting chiefs, which breaks constitutional rules since regent positions do not officially exist anyway.
The council has to restart the selection process from scratch, and this dispute has been dragging on for over a decade with no end in sight.
John Mabhikwa Khumalo led 32 relatives against Zanele getting the regent spot after Chief Vusumuzi Khumalo died, arguing the chieftaincy never went to women in their lineage and pointing out she married into the Ndlovu family. The applicants said government reps forced the ceremony at the wrong location and created two parallel acting chiefs, which breaks constitutional rules since regent positions do not officially exist anyway.
The council has to restart the selection process from scratch, and this dispute has been dragging on for over a decade with no end in sight.
