Speaking on 19 May 2008, Minister Sydney Mufamadi spoke on the matter of 'Who is The Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims?'
The Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims operates nationally and has the authority to decide on any traditional leadership dispute and claim arising in any province.
The Commission has authority to investigate either on request or of it own accord:
- a case where there is doubt as to whether a kingship, position of senior traditional leadership or headmanship was established in accordance with customary law and customs
- a traditional leadership position where the title or right of the incumbent is contested
When considering a dispute or claim the Commission must consider and apply customary law and customs of the relevant traditional community as they were when the events occurred that gave rise to the dispute or claim. A decision of the Commission, taken with the support of at least two thirds of the members of the Commission, must be conveyed to the President for implementation.
In terms of Section 28(7) of the Act the Commission must investigate the position of paramountcies and paramount chiefs that had been established and recognised, and which were still established and recognised, before the commencement of the Act, before the Commission commences with any other investigation.
Thus the Commission started with the investigation of the position of the twelve existing paramountcies. The investigation should be understood within the context of Section 8 of the Act which makes provision for three leadership positions within the institution of traditional leadership, namely: kingship, senior traditional leadership and headmanship. The position of existing paramountcies had to be determined in relation to the three positions provided for by the Act.
In order to establish how the position of an existing paramountcy could be determined in relation to the Act, members of existing paramountcies were expected to address the following issues during the course of the investigation:
- the emergence of a traditional community
- distinguished leaders who played a significant role during the historical development of a traditional community
- if a traditional community lays claim to kingship, when was the kingship established, who established it and how did he/she go about establishing it
- guidance offered by a community’s customary law of succession on ascension to the throne; since its establishment, has the kingship been passed on from one generation to the next in accordance with the custom and customary law of the relevant community
- whether the position of the paramountcy under investigation was established in terms of customary law and customs
In pursuit of uniformity in the Republic of South Africa and in terms of the Framework Act the Commission takes cognisance of the following principles:
- the establishment of an independent traditional community under one leader
- welding together diverse cultural and linguistic elements or communities each with its own recognisable traditional leader under one principal traditional leader
- the traditional community should not have lost its independence through indigenous political processes which resolved themselves during the centuries before colonial intrusion
- the principal traditional leader should rule over the entire traditional community with linguistic and cultural affinities rather than a section thereof
For more information regarding the Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims view Minister Mufamadi's full speech here. Alternatively, contact the dplg directly.
