Moroka said the reasons advanced by the Tshwabis were not convincing enough to deny the late Kgosi Tholo Molebatsi’s son, Gomolemo Molebatsi, to ascend to the throne. The Tshwabis had maintained that the late Molebatsi has got no successor in that his children were born out of wedlock.
The chieftaincy crisis started after the death of Tholo Molebatsi in August last year when the Tshwabi family claimed to be the heirs and challenged the legibility of the Molebatsis. But the Tshwabis failed to explain how the chieftaincy shifted from their hands to the Molebatsis. Moroka ruled that there is no modern procedure for the installation of the chief and the position is inherited. “I rule basing on the reasons from the two parties and through my observation, Molebatsis are the heirs and if the Tshwabis feel they have been unfairly judged, they are free to take the issue further,” Moroka said.
After Tholo Molebatsi’s funeral last year, three headmen of arbitration from Majwaneng, Balapi Mosesane, Ditshenyegelo Gabana and Kgokong Tshwabi went to Moroka in Lerala to inform him that they want to take the chieftaincy that they claimed naturally belonged to the Tshwabis. By then the Molebatsis had agreed on the successor. After the Tshwabis resisted and insisted that the chieftaincy belonged to them, they were given up to the end of January to furnish the chief of Ratholo village, Molefhe Mangadi with a letter explaining their stand. Failure to do this would result in the Molebatsis being given the mandate to continue with the preparations to install one of their own, Peter Aupa Tefo as chief. Tefo was identified as the uncle to hold the position on behalf of Gomolemo who is still held by work commitments.
On January 20 this year, the Tshwabi delegation handed a letter to Molefhe in which they still maintained that they were entitled the position. The two chiefs - Molefhe from Ratholo and Moroka from Lerala each brought two headmen to arbitrate between the two families. One of them, Lekgotla Moroka said that the fact that the Majwaneng chieftaincy has been in the Molebatsis hands for three consecutive terms shows that the throne belongs to them. In addition, the Tshwabis have failed to produce a written agreement that was made when they ‘gave’ the position to the Molebatsis. Another headman of arbitration, Kolobetso Direkileng lashed at the Tshwabis for having failed to challenge the late Tholo Molebats’s legitimacy while he was still alive and demanded that they explain how they ‘lent’ the royal seat to the Molebatsis. The Molebatsis on the other hand maintained that they never knew that Tholo Molebatsi was acting on anybody’s behalf.
After the judgement, the Molebatsis were given the mandate to continue with the installation arrangements and to always involve the Tshwabis as their uncles. They were also urged to consult Mangadi to issue them with a permit to continue with the consultations. At the end of the meeting, the Molebatsis held a short meeting in which they agreed to submit the name of Tefo to the relevant authorities for confirmation.
