King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo is determined to stop a gang allegedly belonging to the Abathembu royal family from extorting money from schools in Mthatha.
The gang of Abathembu royals allegedly stormed Laphumikhwezi Primary School in Marhambeni Location and demanded a share of the school’s income from a cellphone network tower on the school’s property.
At another school, the group allegedly assaulted a deputy principal; at another, they hijacked the school hall.
They also allegedly stopped a water tank project, demanding a share of the profits.
The SAPS has deployed extra capacity to Eastern Cape crime hotspots Gqeberha and Mthatha to clamp down on extortionists, kidnappers and other gangs.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said multidisciplinary teams have been deployed to prevent, combat, investigate, and arrest those behind incidents of gang violence and extortion.
On Tuesday, national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola called on community members to identify the extortionists.
“The challenge we are facing is that community members are reluctant to report incidents of extortion.
“We urge our communities to come forward and report all forms of criminality to us and identify these people so we can make more arrests and build watertight cases that will stand in court,” said Masemola.
At the Tuesday meeting, the King said that those “family members” accused of extorting communities would be dealt with at an appropriate time.
“If people impede the progression of studies and education, those people are criminals. So we have just come here to make sure that the school reopens and studies continue.
“Thereafter, we will solve the problem between me and them [the alleged royal family extortionists] … we will get to the bottom of things.”
The King said he would be at the school gates with the police on Wednesday to ensure that it reopened.
Eastern Cape education department spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima told Scrolla.Africa on Monday that the department was aware of issues at three schools – Laphumikhwezi, Mandela Park, and Efata School for the Deaf and Blind – and that others were still under investigation.
King Dalindyebo’s spokesperson, Princess Ntando Dalindyebo, told Scrolla.Africa that some ANC members, who arrived at the school on Tuesday morning clad in party T-shirts, tried to disrupt the meeting.
“They were chanting the names of some prominent leaders. But when the King arrived, the meeting continued as planned. He was overwhelmed with emotion after seeing the pain of communities who were scared because of the abuse they had been through.
“What I can tell you is that those people who are behind this claim to be members of the royal Abathembu, but we don’t know them,” she said.
The King has called on affected communities to share their statements with the police so that an investigation can begin.
Pictured above: Abathembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo.
