The High Court in Mbombela has tasked Mpumalanga Premier Mandla Ndlovu with convening a meeting of the warring Yende royal family to identify the rightful heir to the throne and immediately crown him.

The ruling follows a 2020 decision by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein, which dethroned Themba Yende as the traditional leader of the clan near Piet Retief along the SA-Eswatini border, declaring his recognition unlawful.

Themba had been wrongly recognised by former Premier David “DD” Mabuza in 2012. This prompted Felani Yende, along with his royal siblings Ntombikayise and Sibongile, to challenge the recognition on the basis that Themba is not suitable for the position.

They claimed that he was born out of wedlock and only assumed the Yende surname (having previously used Hadebe, his mother’s surname) in 1997.

Tracing their origins to the Zulu tribe, Felani and his sisters argued that only their mother, MaMnisi, was married to their father, the late Inkosi Leornard Yende.

As such, only Felani, the first-born son from the marriage could take over the throne of the clan.

The courts ruled that Themba’s recognition was flawed because all the other family members were not given an opportunity to make an input during his recognition.

After Themba was dethroned, in 2024, the provincial government convened a family meeting to identify the rightful heir to the throne, but it was marred by disputes. The dispute came after the government delegation allegedly flouted the law by instructing royal family members to vote for their preferred leader.

Felani argued this was unlawful, insisting a traditional leader is born, not elected, and that customs must dictate the succession. The family returned to court, demanding the government comply with the Mpumalanga Traditional Leadership and Governance Act.

On 13 May 2025, the court ruled in favour of Felani and his siblings, ordering Ndlovu to convene a meeting within 30 days and follow proper procedures.

The court also directed the Yende Royal Family to conduct a meeting as contemplated in Section 19(1) of the Act, read together with Section 8 of the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act 3 of 2019, within thirty (30) days after the Committee has made recommendations to the Royal Family, the Applicants and the MEC for CoGTA regarding composition of the Royal Family, relevant custom and customary law of amaYende asoGenyaneni and identification of a rightful incumbent to the position of Inkosi.

“The Royal Family must submit to the First Respondent (Ndlovu) the name of the person identified as the rightful incumbent for the position of inkosi and/or Senior Traditional Leader of amaYende asGenyaneni After the reporting of the Royal within 20 days of meeting as ordered per order,” the court ruled.