Durban - The two men who controlled the finances of King Goodwill Zwelithini and his family squared off on Wednesday in a legal battle over demands made last June by the king that money be found immediately to fund a R4 million, two-day double celebration of his marriage to his sixth wife and his 66th birthday the next month.
The former chief executive of the Royal Household Trust, Lucas Buthelezi, said recently that retired trust chairman Judge Jerome Ngwenya was furious with him and “shouted” at him at a meeting because he would not toe the line, saying the trust could neither legally nor financially afford to pay for the nuptials and the party.
It was the “final straw” and he resigned immediately, just nine months after taking the R92 000-a-month job, he said.
Buthelezi was testifying at the start of a Durban CCMA hearing before Commissioner Lester Sullivan in which he has claimed “constructive dismissal” and said he wanted compensation.
The trust is opposing the application.
Its attorney Philani Jafta spelled out a detailed defence on Wednesday, including that Buthelezi had reneged on his contract which stipulated he had to spend 80% of his time in Nongoma or Ulundi, that he had closed the office in December without permission, had been absent without authorisation and he was “ducking and diving” a performance review.
The king had also once been forced to bath in cold water because there was no power at a palace where he was staying to attend a strategic planning meeting.
The issue over the king’s wedding was “his albatross”, Jafta said.
“He was asked to prepare a draft budget and operations plan. His ability to manage a project was put to the test and he failed. He said he wanted to resign.”
The hearing began with the trust saying it could not provide minutes of certain meetings which, Buthelezi said, would show that he had raised concerns about the financial demands of the king and Ngwenya’s attitude that “His Majesty must be served”.
Buthelezi, represented by advocate Zuleka Rasool, testified that the trust looked after the king’s family while the Royal Household Department looked after the king himself.
He said when he was offered and took the job in October 2013, Ngwenya had been acting chief executive, providing guidance.
But he took it too far, and being in the office at least three days a week created “two centres of power”.
He said at a strategic meeting with the king in January last year he had been “completely ambushed” when the king had publicly roasted him because two key officials had not been invited.
After an altercation with administrative assistant Nonku Mtshali over “missing minutes” of that meeting Ngwenya had stepped in, undermining him by instructing that Mtshali no longer answer to him.
Buthelezi said the office closure over Christmas 2013 had been with Ngwenya’s blessing. He had taken about a month’s leave when his wife died but that too had been with Ngwenya’s blessing.
He said he had not spent time in Nongoma because there were no offices there .
In June he was told about the impending wedding and birthday party. Ngwenya had told him the trust must pay for it all.
“I was not happy because the trust pays for the family, not the king. I was also not happy because it should have been planned and budgeted for.
“It was R4m. The trust could not pay.”
He said he did prepare a budget which, on the instruction of Ngwenya, contained items which were “pure and plain unauthorised expenditure”.
When he presented it at a meeting on June 25, Ngwenya had shouted at him in front of “junior officials” that his work was sub-standard .
“He said ‘why don’t you just resign now’ and when I said I wanted no further part in this, he instructed that a pen and paper be brought to me. I wrote out my resignation letter and handed it in. I asked to be excused because I was humiliated, felt belittled, and emotional.”
The matter will proceed in November.
The Mercury