Jane Ledwaba
The Ledwaba Traditional Council at Ga-Nkidikitlana village is torn apart, leaving community members in limbo without services.
At the centre of their disputes is the council’s refusal to accept a woman as their traditional leader.
Since the death of Chief Makatakele Ledwaba in 2016, the all-male council has constantly refused to endorse his wife, Jane Ledwaba to ascend to the throne.
Jane said hours after her husband’s burial, she was ordered by her in-laws to take her two daughters and vacate the house.
She said “My in-laws were determined to kick me out of my house like a dog. They have been harassing me since their brother fell sick and continued throughout my mourning period. However, I stood my ground and refused to leave.”
Her refusal to vacate her marital house is now affecting service delivery after members of the royal council blocked a farming project, the installation of street lights and a network tower for mobile phones.
Jane said when service providers come to the village; members of the royal council tell them that those services are not necessary.
With no gravel roads, poor phone network, chronic shortage of water and other basic services, life at Ga-Nkidikitlana is a daily struggle.
Jane has accused her late husband’s brothers for being greedy and not acting in the best interest of the community.
She said “They are blocking these services as a way of undermining me as a woman. They have long dispossessed me the royal council stamp so that they can run their own affairs. They are demanding money from villagers before they could assist them. They then take the money they collected from the villagers and buy alcohol.”
One of the council members, who only identified himself as “Ledwaba of royal house” said they don’t recognise Jane as their rightful chief.
He said “That woman was the wife of the late chief but not the one chosen by us. She had no business in meddling in our affairs.”
Victor Mabitula, the spokesperson of the South African Human Rights said internal politics within traditional councils are common but defer in terms of culture.
He said “It is unfortunate that women are still marginalised when it comes to issues of traditional leadership.”