Times Of Swaziland: HEAD TEACHER SUMMONED FOR THEFT OF KING’S CATTLE HEAD TEACHER SUMMONED FOR THEFT OF KING’S CATTLE ================================================================================ BY KHULEKANI NENE on 05/12/2013 05:41:00 LUKHULA – Malindza high school Head teacher Magijimane Matsebula has been summoned by the KaLanga umphakatsi for allegedly stealing a herd of 12 cattle from a Tibiyo TakaNgwane farm. Matsebula together with members of his family appeared before the KaLanga inner-council led by Headman Solomon Mbingo yesterday just before noon. On his previous appearance before the council, Matsebula was ordered to return home to deliberate with his family on how much he was prepared to pay as a fine for allegedly stealing the king’s cattle. Matsebula looked relaxed while standing before the umphakatsi council. He told the council that his family had met and decided that it was going to pay four cattle as a fine for the alleged theft of the king’s cattle. “So that we can clear the allegations levelled against the family, we can only afford to pay four cattle as a fine,” he said. However, the inner council did not seem satisfied with what Matsebula offered. “Are you aware of how much you are supposed to pay when you have tampered with property in the king’s farm? Since there are 12 cattle involved in this matter, when paying a fine, each cattle is accompanied by two cattle, which means you have to pay for two cattle for each of the stolen ones,” a member of the inner council explained to Matsebula. In response, Matsebula told the council that he only knows two of the 12 cattle adding that his family could only afford to pay four cattle as a fine. Headman Mbingo then postponed the matter to next year saying the council was taking a break following the commencement of the little incwala. “We are going to inform our superiors that the Matsebula family is only able to pay four cattle as a fine for the theft of the king’s cattle. After discussing with our superiors, we will call you, and that will probably be next year,” said Mbingo. On another note, it is not the first time Matsebula has been accused of matters related to cattle rustling. In 2011, he was accused of cattle rustling and was charged by the court and subsequently suspended by the Teaching Services Commission (TSC). He was, however, later acquitted and was subsequently reinstated by the TSC to his position as head teacher for Malindza high school. Pupils and teachers at the school objected to this move. They petitioned the TSC requesting that Matsebula be transferred to another school but the TSC insisted that Matsebula was going nowhere. In one of the heated meetings, the TSC and Ministry of Education and Training held with parents, Under Secretary Macanjana Motsa told parents that it would be legally incorrect to transfer Matsebula to another school just because parents do not want him.