Chief flees palace

Fri, 16 Jun 2017 09:32:29 +0000

By BENNIE MANDANDO

CHIEF Ngabwe of Central Province has fled his palace as succession wrangles have continued after he was rejected by the royal establishment which has accused him of being an alien. 

On March, 13, 2017 the Ngabwe Royal Establishment (NRE) met and resolved that Ignitious Kashoka, whom they accused of having ascended to the throne dubiously, should immediately step down and allow the rightful heir, Allan Lupenga to be installed.

This came after a prolonged succession dispute dating as far back as 2008 when previous chief Daniel Mukalaba Kalebuka died and Bran Chikute acted in the transition period to initiate Mr. Lupenga in the rituals the heir had to undergo.

However, before the rituals were completed and the transition period ended, factions emerged, each claiming the chieftaincy. The chiefdom plunged in turmoil as the legal battle on who was the rightful candidate for the position raged on before Mr. Kashoka took over throne “unceremoniously” according to the NRE.

As a result of the on-going wrangle, the NRE met early this year and unanimously rejected Mr. Kashoka’s saying he was not the rightful heir to the throne because by lineage, he belonged to the “bena Mbwa,” which was a clan from which slaves came and that no slave had the mandate to preside over the Ngabwe chiefdom.

The NRE then wrote to the House of Chiefs attaching minutes of its meeting in which they resolved never to recognise Mr. Kashoka because he was not on the family lineage and that he ascended to the throne dubiously.

Sensing an impending revolt form subjects, Mr. Kashoka reportedly fled the palace and that he has just been sneaking in from time to time for fear of being attacked by his subjects.

Speaking on behalf of the NRE yesterday, Mr. Chikute said Mr. Kashoka will remain a rejected man as the royal establishment did not recognise and that no matter what he did, he would not succeed. “As far as we are concerned, there is no chief in Ngabwe currently because the one who is there is just imposing himself on the people. He does not even stay there anymore. He fled the palace because he has realised that people are angry with him. The person who was chosen by the royal family is Mr. Lupenga. As I am speaking to you, Mr. Lupenga is the one with the instruments of power and there is no chief who can rule without that.