Gomani chieftaincy dispute rages on

A day after an eminent forum of Maseko Ngoni elders stressed that Inkosi ya Makhosi Gomani V cannot be expelled, the other faction, led by Dingiswayo Gomani, says the former should stay away from the matter.

At a news briefing held in Limbe on Thursday, Dingiswayo Jere, who is reported to have been appointed by the royal family, declared himself the legitimate Inkosi ya Makhosi stressing he was not ready to surrender the chieftainship under any context.

“In our Gomani royal family, we are done with him [Mswati]. A decision was made and the family placed me on the throne. Actually, the Gomani royal family headquarters is no longer at Lizulu, it has now moved to Nkolimbo. This is a point of no return.

“If he insists that he is still Inkosi Gomani, maybe he is for his advisory elders [amakhosis, impis], but certainly not for the royal family. But if he wants, he should come to us first to discuss and resolve this matter,” said Dingiswayo while flanked by his legal adviser Simao Chatepa and impi Hastings Jumbe, a correspondent for Sabc Channel Africa Service.

He warned Mswati’s impis to stop complicating the matter, arguing it did not concern them and that should be left to family members to exclusively resolve it.

Said Dingiswayo: “This is a Gomani family matter that should be dealt with by the family. What they [impis] are doing is provocation which we will not allow. We are aware that these people are being used, but we will not relent.”

During the Maseko Ngonis’ briefing on Tuesday, Henry Hastings Gomani, speaking on behalf of the royal family, said the family was not aware of the purported reasons and it was a lie that Mswati had become big-headed because there had been no complaint of misconduct by the Inkosi. n