Rustenburg – The Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela in Moruleng outside Rustenburg paid a total of R14 million to their Botswana chapter, the Maluleke Commission heard on Wednesday.
Paramount chief of the tribe Kgafela Kgafela told the commission that the money was paid from 2010 until 2012, the money was for the care of the paramount chief and to run his office in Botswana.
Jugdge George Maluleke heads a commission probing the chieftaicy of Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela in Moruleng.
The Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela is straddle between Botswana and South Africa, the other part is based in Mochudi, Botswana while the other part is in Moruleng in South Africa.
The traditional community is led by Kgosi Nyala Pilane in South Africa while Kgafela Kgafela II based in Botswana is the paramount chief of Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela.
The dispute surrounding the chieftaincy of the more than 300,000 Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela in Moruleng, surfaced when paramount chief Kgafela Kgafela II relocate from Botswana to South Africa in May 2012, following charges of assault and legal battles with the government of Botswana.
Kgafela II said the money paid to the office in Mochudi by the Moruleng office was in line with custom that calls for th tribe to take care of its paramount chief.
He explained that the office in Muchudi had a monthly expense of 243,737 pula on salaries only. He earned 50,000 pula, his wife 25,000 pula and his uncle 20,000 pula.
“During the reign of my father, there was a tribal resolution taken on April 24, 1994 that the tribe must take care of the paramount chief, unfortunately my father died before this could be done.”
He said the Moruleng chapter was well of compared to the Muchudi as they have income from mines while in Mochudi they had no means of income.
He explained that the money from Moruleng was stopped in 2012, and it had affected his office in Mochudi to an extend that the office was closed and he too together with his wife, uncle, a driver and a secretary were without any income. They are all in South Africa following a dispute he had with the government of Botswana.
During the proceeding on Wednesday, some of the community members opposed to Kgosi Nyalala Pilane objected to the presence of a team of lawyers representing him, the royal family and the traditional council, saying the legal team had no mandate to act on their behalf as there was no resulotion taken by the tribe that they should represent them at the commission’s hearing.
Matlapeng Pilane told the commission that he did not recall any tribal meeting that took a resolution to hire lawyers.
“I am a Mokgatla and I do not know of any [tribal] meeting that give them [lawyers] mandate to be here…”
Matlapeng Pilane and those who supported him also objected to the legal team that document pertaining to the finances and bank statement of the tribe should be treated as confidential.
They wanted to be public, stating that Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela administration was refusing them access to the documents.
* This story has been updated.
African News Agency