 (1).png){kind=spacer}
1 month ago
7
Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso has been tasked to set up a 12-member team to investigate matters of the Ingonyama Trust Board. (OJ Koloti/Gallo Images)
- AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini met with Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso on Tuesday.
- The meeting took place at the KwaKhangelamankengane Royal Palace in KwaNongoma, KwaZulu-Natal.
- Nyhontso apologised to King Misuzulu after a breakdown in relations over the governance of the Ingonyama Trust Board, and brought three cows to the palace as a gesture of reconciliation.
AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has tasked Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso to set up a 12-member team to investigate matters of the Ingonyama Trust Board.
This is according to Nyhontso, who briefed the media shortly after his meeting with King Misuzulu at the KwaKhangelamankengane Royal Palace in KwaNongoma, KwaZulu-Natal, on Tuesday.
The minister said:
Twelve people are going to be established to investigate the board and if they feel we need to establish a new board, that's what we will do.
News24 understands that the people will include Royal House members, Amakhosi, former health minister and KwaZulu-Natal premier Zweli Mkhize, and two legal practitioners.
Nyhontso brought three cows to ukushweleza, a gesture of seeking forgiveness from the king.
READ | AmaZulu king, land reform minister to smoke the peace pipe after Ingonyama Trust Board controversy
Earlier, News24 reported that this act of reconciliation comes in response to the controversy surrounding the handling of the governance of the Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB).
During the meeting - which followed the conflict that arose in December over the trust's governance - amabutho (regiments) are said to have demanded an apology from Nyhontso.
Misuzulu apparently felt "disrespected" by the minister's decision to reverse his suspension of six board members in December last year, according to sources.
A well-placed palace insider said: "He is expected to bring the cattle as a sign of ukushweleza for the manner in which he handled the issue. The biggest bone of contention is that his majesty wrote to the minister through his attorney numerous times, and the minister did not respond to his majesty.
Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso has apologised to AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini with three cows after a breakdown in relations over the governance of Ingonyama Trust Board. (Supplied/Royal House)
"After failing to respond to his majesty, the minister was then seen in the media responding, saying his majesty had no powers, without having spoken to his majesty to find out what prompted his majesty's actions in terms of suspending the board members so that they could have discussed the proper way to handle it."
This was the first meeting since the fallout in December.
To mend relations, Misuzulu wanted Nyhontso to apologise and sought "an immediate resolution to the crisis".
Last month, a legal opinion sought by Parliament found Misuzulu did not have the powers to suspend the board, and the decision lay with Nyhontso.
This article has been updated with additional information.
