Chief Edward Moefi Mabalane, recently embroiled in a scandal involving the alleged misappropriation of R46 million from the National Skills Fund (NSF), is facing mounting pressure, not only from authorities investigating the misuse of public funds but also from within his own family.
A bitter chieftaincy dispute has erupted, with his elder sister, Ingrid Mabalane, challenging his right to the Baphiring throne.
The scandal, which has left over 1 000 unemployed young people in Mabaalstad, North West, without the promised agricultural skills training, centres on a R46 million NSF initiative. Mabalane’s company, Medirwe Investments, was appointed project manager, with Beyond Expectations as the implementing party.
The project, intended to train young people in poultry farming, was meant to commence in March 2024. However, a second tranche of R5 million, deposited into Medirwe Investments’ account on 12 December 2023, appears to have been diverted to fund Mabalane’s lavish lifestyle.
When confronted about this expenditure, Mabalane, according to minutes from a 3 July 2024 meeting between NSF officials and the service provider, blamed the fund itself. He claimed the money was deposited into his general business account, not a designated NSF account, and was therefore used for "other business interests." This explanation has done little to quell the outrage over the misuse of public funds intended for skills development.
This financial scandal has now intersected with a long-standing family feud over the Baphiring chieftaincy. Ingrid Mabalane, Moefi's elder sister, has launched a legal challenge to his claim to the throne, arguing that he is not the rightful successor.
In an urgent court application seeking permission to bury her late son, Albert Rasibitse, at their ancestral home, Ingrid revealed the depth of the family conflict. She stated: "At the time of the death of my late father, who was a chief, the first respondent [Moefi] took over the chieftaincy of the Baphiring. The first respondent knew that, in terms of South African law, the first-born child ought to be the one taking over the chieftaincy, however, he did not allow that I become the chief of Baphiring. The quarrel started at that time, and I had to leave the royal family and look for work in Gauteng as a way of staying out of the dispute."
Ingrid further explained that the relationship between herself and Moefi has been strained since their father's death, due to Moefi's awareness of her rightful claim to the chieftaincy. She added: "I must state that I am not intending to hold the court to ransom with the matter that I am intending to bring application for. The sole purpose of this application is for the deceased to be buried with his family in Rustenburg.”
The court papers further elaborate on Ingrid's claim, stating: “In my capacity as the first born from the late Chief Albert Mabalane and Nelly Mabalane, and mother of the deceased, my son has the right to be buried together with the deceased's other close family members referred to below, who support this application wholeheartedly.”
Ingrid highlighted Moefi’s refusal to acknowledge her son as part of the royal family, stating that this refusal stemmed from the fact that he is her son. She said Moefi "unilaterally and without reason or substantiation decided that he not be buried at the place where the other royal family members are being buried". She added that Moefi refused to allow the funeral to be held at her parents' house and ignored calls for her son to be buried in the royal family graveyard, as per Baphiring tradition.
The court, in an order delivered by acting North West Judge President Andre Petersen on 2 October, ruled in Ingrid's favour, ordering Moefi to allow the burial of her son at the Baphiring royal family graveyard in Rustenburg. Moefi has not yet responded to requests for comment.
The confluence of the financial scandal and the family dispute places Chief Mabalane in a precarious position. The investigation into the misappropriation of NSF funds continues, and the challenge to his chieftaincy adds another layer of complexity to his already troubled situation. The future of both his leadership and his legacy hangs in the balance.
