Durban - Controversial AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo said he had joined the DA as “a wonderful present to Madiba”.
The defiant king said he had cut ties with the ANC years ago because of its current leadership and recently joined the DA.
Dalindyebo again launched a scathing attack against President Jacob Zuma, this time calling him a “parasite”, a “Zulu boy from Nkandla”, and a “tribalist” at the helm of a divided ANC.
“Zuma is no different from a parasite. Parasitic in origin, parasitic in the making, and a serpent at heart. This is how I start my road to joining the DA,” he said.
He said that DA Eastern Cape leader Athol Trollip would be paying him a visit soon to finalise a few things.
“In fact, joining (the) DA is a wonderful present to Madiba, a present to my grandfather. In 2014, we want the Eastern Cape in the hands of the DA, because 2019 is too far,” said Dalindyebo.
A few weeks after laying into Zuma during a prayer meeting for Nelson Mandela, saying: “If you eat out of the dustbins of the Guptas, you are a non-starter”, Dalindyebo questioned the ANC leader’s leadership.
The king tore into Zuma during a meeting of the AbaThembu at his Bumbane Great Place, near Qunu, at the weekend, attended by chiefs and members of the community.
Dalindyebo, incensed by what he viewed as the Zuma administration’s interference in the internal affairs of his kingdom, called the meeting to discuss the contents of a letter Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Richard Baloyi wrote to him “on matters of interest in the affairs of AbaThembu royal establishment”.
Another letter sent to him - in which 12 members of the royal family, including Mandla Mandela, complained about Dalindyebo’s conduct and called for his removal - was also on the agenda.
He said people who asked him why he was “disrespecting” Zuma should pose the same question to expelled ANC Youth League president Julius Malema.
“If you remember, Malema used to be in Zuma’s camp and benefited from Zuma. He then tries to expose me as an incompetent king. Meanwhile, he himself is a drunk politician, a tribal leader pursuing tribalism, a Zulu boy from Nkandla.
“So I cannot respect a nonsensical Zulu boy who does not respect the royal house of the AbaThembu. This is how we’re going to treat him from now on, day in, day out, every day, for breakfast, lunch and dinner,” said Dalindyebo.
Zuma’s spokesman, Mac Maharaj, said: “We will attend to the matter when his letter reaches the president. In the meantime, we have no comment.”
ANC spokesman Keith Khoza said: “We are not commenting to dignify his ridiculous and unfounded accusations.”
Dalindyebo was entitled to his views, “even though they are not correct. People will judge him. He was raised by the ANC, so history will judge him”.
Dalindyebo said: “JZ’s leadership, when we define it, he is the leader of a clique. He is the leader of half of the ANC.
“There are cliques and divisions that he’s struggling with in the ANC, and now he is the one trying to bring them here.”
He said he had called a meeting on July 25 and invited Zuma.
The king said he did not rule out legal action against the president should he fail to address some of his grievances.
He also described Zuma as a parasite that survived by sucking the blood of others.
At least one chief has come out in support of Dalindyebo’s move away from the ANC.
Chief Jonas Jongisizwe “JJ” Ndzambule, the traditional chief of eastern and central Mthatha, said after the meeting that he supported Dalindyebo’s decision to cut ties with the ruling party.
“The decision that has been taken by the king is in line with the Bill of Rights,” said Ndzambule.
After Dalindyebo slated Zuma last month, Eastern Cape ANC secretary Oscar Mabuyane denounced him as a person prone to rants who enjoyed “hurling frivolous insults and unfounded allegations against the ANC, President Zuma and our government ministers”.
“Of late, we are used to his insult-laden rants, but what rattles the ANC is that these appear to be inspired by factors outside the movement, but more to do with his court battles.”
The Mercury