Newly installed queen of the Balobedu nation, c Modjadji suffered an embarrassing blow when the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane dismissed her application for an urgent interdict to overturn the closure of more than ten initiation schools in Bolobedu.
The queen’s court bid followed a decision by Limpopo Premier Phophi Ramathuba and the Provincial Initiation Coordinating Committee a week earlier to withdraw permits for initiation schools that had been submitted by a member of the Balobedu Royal Council and spokesperson Sello Modjadji.
Delivering his judgement on Tuesday 30 June ,Acting Judge Maphiri Harold Masilo said the queen’s application did not meet the requirements of urgency, noting that the initiation schools had already been shut down and the initiates moved elsewhere.
“The application is not urgent as the initiates have already relocated to other schools outside the borders of Modjadji. Permits were revoked due to invalidity issues and therefore cannot be restored,” said Judge Masilo.
Judge Masilo further stated that the approval of such permits was legally impossible, as no recognised traditional council currently exists to process such applications under the governing legislative framework.
“The Provincial Initiation Coordinating Committee’s appeal was based on the absence of a traditional council last year, yet on the same facts the queen now applies for initiation schools while there is still no traditional council,” said the judge.
He further pointed out that the queen had previously suspended initiation schools pending her coronation, which has yet to take place.
Thirteen initiation schools in total were closed on Friday, with initiates subsequently transferred to alternative locations outside Bolobedu.
Representing the queen , Advocate Kgatla told the court that they were seeking an interdict against the shutdown of the initiation schools, arguing that the relocation of initiates had been unlawful and carried out under duress.
He explained that the queen had suspended initiation schools for a one-year period while awaiting her coronation. He further said that one of her representatives had secured approval from the Provincial Initiation Coordinating Committee (PICC), which was later contested by other parties.
Kgatla added that Prince Mpapatla Modjadji , the queen’s uncle, had opposed the granting of the permits.
He also attributed the dispute to internal divisions and political interference affecting the royal family.
“There is power mongering which has been politicised. The Premier addressed the ANC that the initiation schools should be closed,” he said.
Judge Masilo responded that the court was not concerned with political rivalry or internal disputes, but rather with the application of legal facts and principles.
Kgatla maintained that the absence of a traditional council stemmed from the fact that the queen has not yet been formally coronated.
“But why did the PICC approve the permits in the first place. Those initiates were forcibly removed from the school (koma) and here the queen just wants answers because her people want to go to the school and enjoy their culture,” he said.
Ramathuba’s legal representative, Advocate Minah Matemotsa, argued that the case had become moot and that the court was being asked to grant relief that was not legally possible.
She further submitted that the queen had failed to meet the legal threshold for either a declaratory order or an interdict.
Matemotsa added that the permits relied upon by the queen were issued by an individual who did not have the legal authority to do so.
