Sabata Jonguhlanga Dalindyebo (1928–1986) was the ruler of the Thembu Kingdom. He was the son of Jongilizwe Sampu Dalindyebo. His rule was marked by conflict with

Kaiser Matanzima Chief Kaiser Daliwonga Matanzima, often misspelled as Mathanzima (15 June 1915 – 15 June 2003), was the long-term leader of Transkei. In 1950, when South Africa was offered to establish the Bantu Authorities Act, Matanzima convinced the Bhun ...

. This political conflict escalated until Sabata was arrested in 1979 for subverting the sovereignty of Parliament and the constitutional independence of

Transkei Transkei ( , meaning ''the area beyond Great Kei River,

he river The He River is a tributary of the Xi River in Guangxi and Guangdong provinces in China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it ...

Kei''), officially the Republic of Transkei (), was an list of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa f ...

, and for violating and injuring the dignity of the State President. Before his arrest Sabata had been described as "somewhat erratic" in habits, but was also respected for having moral authority in his resistance of luxuries and criticism of how Kaiser dealt with

Apartheid-era South Africa Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

. Sabata left Transkei due to the arrest and ultimately died in exile in

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

. Sabata was buried twice. His first burial was described as a "tawdry affair" that highlighted the tension between Kaiser and Sabata. His 1989 reburial is believed to relate to the efforts of

Bantu Holomisa Bantubonke Harrington Holomisa (born 25 July 1955) is a South African politician. He is a member of parliament for and president of the United Democratic Movement. and the current Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans. Holomisa was ...

to align himself with Dalindyebo's legacy.Garrey Dennie, ''One King, Two Burials'' (University of the Witwatersrand, African Studies Institute, 1990) Among the dignitaries on that day were Bishop Stanley Mogoba and the late

Peter Mokaba Peter Mokaba, OLS (7 January 1959 – 9 June 2002) was a member of the South African parliament, deputy minister in the government of Nelson Mandela and president of the South African governing party's youth wing, the ANC Youth League. Th ...

. He had many children and upon his death the king was succeeded by his son

Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo King Buyelekhaya Zwelibanzi Dalindyebo KaSabata (born 5 April 1964), reign name Zwelibanzi, is the king of the abaThembu people of South Africa since the late 1980s to present day. Dalindyebo is the son of the previous king of the AbaThembu King ...

, who was jailed and released in South Africa.

References

External links

1928 births 1986 deaths People from the Eastern Cape Xhosa people {{SouthAfrica-bio-stub