JUSTICE NDABA AND THE THEMBU CLAN

JUSTICE NDABA AND THE THEMBU CLAN

On Friday last week, the royal family of Thembu revealed that they want to respect the final wishes of one of their own and the former general secretary of the African National Congress, Palesa Ndaba after a publicized meeting of the family at the Ndaba Mvezo home.

The meeting was called by the head of family, Justice Ndaba, who is Palesa’s grandson. The meeting received a considerable publicity from the local media after the first wife of Palesa, Winnie Ndaba moved to court in order to stop the gathering from taking place. She said that she was afraid the called meeting would be interrupted by violence. However, the court threw out the order. The judge stated that Ms. Ndaba was not in her rights to try to stop the meeting since the Mvezo home never belonged to her as she quoted in her application. The court ordered her to pay the fees of the application.

Since Palesa Ndaba left the political scene and passed on, the Mvezo home has been in the spotlight. Three weeks after his death, the reading of his will takes place and revealed that the late icon left nothing to his first wife Ms. Winnie Ndaba who divorced him just after his release from prison. Since then, Ms. Winnie Ndaba started challenging the ownership of the Mvezo home, saying that she was the owner since she acquired it while her husband was still in prison.

According to some source, one of the reasons that moved Justice Ndaba to call the meeting was the current contest of the Mvezo home. However, the members of family have neither confirmed nor denied the matter, saying only the topics of their discussion were not to share with the public. Chief Mathanzima Madikizela, the president of the Eastern Cape House of Traditional Chiefs, spoke at the end of the meeting and said that what they discussed was strictly a family issue and they do not want to share it with the public. However, he added that the family decided to respect the final wishes of Palesa Ndaba even if some of them were not pleased with the decision.

Justice Ndaba, the eldest grandson of Palesa Ndaba, said that eldery should be respected because they are the guardians of culture and tradition. The traditional chief and Member of Parliament was speaking throughout a visit in Sekhukhune to Ga-Marishane. He was accompanied by his grandmother and mother. He donated also numerous bedspreads to elderly people. He said that the blankets were a symbol to bring back the dignity of elderly women in particular since the country saw serious violations against women as they were killed and raped.

Palesa Ndaba passed on lately after a long battle against heart issues. While doctors claimed that his condition was stable, it deteriorated suddenly and President Jacob Zuma visited him two days before his death. Palesa Ndaba fought beside Nelson Mandela against the white minority rule for more than thirty years.