- The Supreme Court of Appeal sent the Bapedi kingship dispute back to the Limpopo High Court.
- The court said custom must be proven, not assumed, especially when there’s no heir.
- The Bapedi remain without a recognised acting monarch until the high court decides.
When a monarch dies without an heir, the ripple effects stretch far beyond the palace gates. For the Bapedi Nation, the sudden death of King Victor Thulare III in January 2021 without marrying a candle wife, key step in ensuring succession, has left a throne vacant and a nation without clear leadership.
At the centre of the Bapedi kingship dispute is a question that the Supreme Court of Appeal says cannot be answered by assumption or political agreement alone: what does Bapedi custom require when a king dies without a designated heir?
More than four years after the king’s death, South Africa’s highest appeal court has now ordered that the matter return to the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane to be heard afresh, this time with the help of oral and expert evidence. In doing so, the court set aside a previous ruling that had recognised one of the rival factions, saying the high court acted without a proper understanding of the applicable custom.
No heir, no king
King Thulare III died without having married a candle wife, the consort customarily expected to bear the heir through a seed raiser. This has thrown the traditional succession process into disarray and sparked a bitter leadership battle within the royal house.
Two factions emerged. The Queen Mother, Manyaku Maria Thulare, asserted that she was appointed as acting queen at an intimate royal family meeting, with the support of close relatives and King Thulare III’s non-candle wives. Her claim rests on the idea that only the late king’s inner circle, his immediate household, forms the royal family under Bapedi custom.
Meanwhile, a larger faction including 46 relatives, uncles, aunts, siblings, and bakgomana, identified Morwamohube Ernest Thulare, the king’s half-brother, as acting king and seed raiser. They argue that Bapedi custom involves a broader definition of royal kin, one that includes senior male relatives from the house of the previous king, Rhyne Sekhukhune III.
Custom must be proven
In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court of Appeal found that the high court had overreached by making findings about Bapedi custom without evidence. Justice KM Keightley wrote that “disputes of this kind require evidence-based resolution” and that neither faction had submitted expert or factual testimony to define the royal family or succession process under Bapedi tradition.
The court emphasised that while statutes like the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act provide a legal framework, they rely on custom to determine who qualifies to identify an acting monarch in cases like this.
Because of the failure to prove the custom at the centre of the Bapedi kingship dispute, the entire matter has been sent back to the Limpopo High Court to be heard again, this time by a different judge, possibly from another division.
A nation in waiting
The new hearing will explore crucial questions. Who counts as the royal family under Bapedi law? Can common wives of a deceased king be involved in leadership decisions? Does legitimacy of birth affect rank? And what process must be followed when there is no heir? Until these matters are settled, the Bapedi Nation remains in a leadership vacuum.
The Queen Mother had asked the court to confirm her position as acting queen pending finalisation, citing an interim order and a temporary certificate from the Limpopo Premier. But the court declined, noting that those issues are before the high court and remain disputed.
For now, the throne remains empty, and the path forward uncertain, until custom is proven in court.
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