King vows to shut down university, take back the land

Dispatch 06 March 2021

One of the most powerful kings in the former Transkei, AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, is accused of sending violent “rogues and vagabonds” to wage war against Walter Sisulu University (WSU). The king’s hired men have already forcefully removed university staff, their academic material and furniture from the complex, writes Lulamile Feni for Dispatch.

WSU’s advocate Apla Bodlani warned in the Mthatha High Court recently that shots had been fired as security guards resisted the king’s incursions but people could soon die. In an urgent application, Bodlani stated that Dalindyebo had vowed to take back most of the university’s Mthatha property and force the university to shut down. WSU’s Centre for Rural Development has been occupied by the king and his forces and WSU staff chased away. The king is now in control of the centre’s two floors, housing 10 offices and a basement.

In an interim interdict, Judge T Mnguni ordered the king and his party to stop threatening and intimidating WSU’s employees, vacate the properties and return the buildings to WSU’s Centre for Rural Development.
Full report on the Dispatch Live site

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