The Mphephu-Ramabulana Royal Family suffered another setback when the Constitutional Court refused them permission to approach the court directly. The court did not want to rule that an interim leader for the Vhavenda be appointed and said that the matter first needed to be considered in the lower courts.
The royal family appealed directly to the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) in an effort to overturn a previous High Court decision. The Limpopo High Court did not want to issue an order that would have compelled the premier to appoint a temporary king of the Vhavenda.
In the ConCourt ruling delivered last Friday (21st), the background to the case is briefly outlined. It started in August 2010 when the royal family identified Toni Mphephu-Ramabulana as the new king of the Vhavenda. Former president Jacob Zuma gave the green light for his inauguration, but everything came to a halt when another contender, the young princess Masindi Mphephu-Ramabulana, stepped forward and started litigation. She argued that, as the only child of the previous Vhavenda leader, she should have been a contender but had been overlooked because of her gender.
Masindi’s legal team initially could not convince the High Court that Toni’s appointment was irregular, and her case was dismissed in 2016. The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), however, had a different take on things, and in April 2019 a groundbreaking ruling was made, emphasising the importance of bringing traditional law in line with constitutional values. The case had to go back to the High Court for adjudication, but this time in front of a different judge.
The royal family appealed against the SCA ruling to the ConCourt, but this step also backfired on them. Masindi’s legal team filed a cross-appeal, objecting to the fact that an interim ruler had been allowed. One of the arguments was that while Toni Mphephu-Ramabulana served as interim ruler, no incentive existed to sort out the leadership issues. The ConCourt ruled in her favour and Toni was removed as interim leader.
Only in February 2022, however, were the Mphephu-Ramabulana royal family stripped of their benefits by the provincial government. In April 2022, the royal family asked the province’s premier to recognise Mavhungu David (-Japan) Mphephu as the acting king. This did not happen, and in November that year, the family approached the High Court on a “semi-urgent” basis to force the premier to recognise -Japan as acting king.
The High Court felt that the case was not urgent, but did deal with some of the merits of the application. It ruled that the application was premature as the SCA had found that an acting king could only be identified once Masindi’s review application had served before the High Court.
After the royal family’s application was dismissed, they applied for leave to appeal to the ConCourt. They also applied for leave to appeal to the full court of the Limpopo Division of the High Court.
In Friday’s ruling, the judges of the ConCourt were unanimous in their view that the royal family had offered no valid arguments as to why the lower courts should be bypassed “and deprive this court of the benefits of [the] judgments of those courts”.
The judges clearly had some empathy with the royal family and did not burden them with a cost order as is usually the case when someone brings an unsuccessful application. “I emphasise that this matter should be resolved promptly and must be taken seriously by all parties involved. The (void) that has existed in the leadership of the Vhavenda community since February 2022 is deeply troubling and requires speedy resolution,” said Judge Leona Theron.
The case may, however, move closer to a conclusion before the end of the year. The Polokwane High Court has set aside the week from 15 to 19 July to hear arguments.
According to Mr Johann Hammann, legal representative of Masindi Mphephu, they had asked for at least two weeks, but this was not granted. He was very sceptical as to whether the court would be able to listen to all the arguments and consider the evidence in only a week.