The ongoing feud between AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo and his son Prince Azenathi Dalindyebo traces back to 2016. Their dispute has not only affected the royal house but has also garnered attention beyond their kingdom's boundaries. King Dalindyebo publicly questioned Prince Azenathi's paternity and demanded a DNA test to confirm their biological relationship. He even threatened to disown him. In 2020, the king gave Prince Azenathi an ultimatum to vacate the Bumbane Great Place, their ancestral home, until a DNA test could be conducted. On November 1, the king visited a laboratory to undergo a DNA test to determine the prince's paternity. On December 20, 2023, the DNA results were revealed during a press conference held in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, in front of the AbaThembu Royal House.
The DNA dispute has caused division within the AbaThembu Royal House, as King Dalindyebo faced legal troubles related to allegations of terrorizing Azenathi and his family at the Bumbane Great Place. He also faced charges of assaulting his subjects in the 1990s, including an alleged kidnapping and arson case. In December 2015, he was arrested for three counts of assault, seven counts of kidnapping, three counts of arson, one count of culpable homicide, and one count of defeating the ends of justice. Initially sentenced to 15 years, his sentence was later reduced to three years.
Prior to the announcement of Prince Azenathi's DNA results, doubts regarding the legitimacy of the results were raised within the Royal House. King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo was notably absent from the announcement, following reports of his separation from his sixth wife, Queen Khazeka.
Prince Azenathi, son of Queen Nocollege Dalindyebo (Buyiswa Majiki), sat on the panel wearing all-white attire and a keffiyeh, a Palestinian headscarf, anxiously awaiting his fate. Nkosi Thandisizwe Mtirara, King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo's uncle, delivered the announcement, stating, "The results are very clear. The results do not lie, I too have been there and know how they work. Through all the back and forth, the results are out and they prove that Prince Azenathi Dalindyebo is indeed King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo's son." Nkosi Mtirara emphasized the evidence provided by the DNA results, stating that they did not need to be read from a paper. He expressed the need to repair the damage caused by the uncertainty surrounding the results.
