Buyelekhaya Zwelinbanzi Dalindyebo a Sabata (born 1964; r. since May 1989), praise name

Isibongo

In Zulu culture, "isibongo" is a clan name or "praise name". The term is derived from the verb "-bonga" meaning "to praise", "to thank", "to worship" or "to call by a clan name". The plural form "izibongo" refers to praise poetry, a typical Zulu art form where the fame of a person is extolled....

 Zwelibanzi, is a king of the abaThembu in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. He is the son of the previous king, Sabata Jonguhlanga Dalindyebo

Sabata Jonguhlanga Dalindyebo

Sabata Jonguhlanga Dalindyebo, was the ruler of the Thembu people of South Africa. He reigned from June 30, 1954 to 1980, when he was deposed by the government of Kaiser Matanzima on trumped-up charges, causing him to flee to exile in Lusaka, Zambia to join the African National Congress , where...

, a descendant of the amaHala dynasty, and ruler of the current bakaDalindyebo lineage. In May 2005, he was indicted for fraud

Fraud

In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...

, murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

, attempted murder

Attempted murder

Attempted murder is a crime in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.-Today:In English criminal law, attempted murder is the crime of more than merely preparing to commit unlawful killing and at the same time having a specific intention to cause the death of human being under the Queen's Peace...

, kidnapping

Kidnapping

In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...

 and arson

Arson

Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...

 at the Mthatha High Court, and is currently appealing against a 15-year jail sentence. The charges stemmed from violence against his subjects in a small village near Mthatha

Mthatha

Mthatha is the main town of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The town has an airport, previously known by the name K. D. Matanzima Airport after former leader Kaiser Matanzima....

 between 1995 and 1996. In December 2009, Buyelekhaya threatened to secede

Secession

Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...

 from South Africa, and take two-thirds of the country's land with him. The secession bid apparently came after President Jacob Zuma

Jacob Zuma

Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is the President of South Africa, elected by parliament following his party's victory in the 2009 general election....

refused to intervene in the king's litigations.