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A VISIT to Libya’s President Muammar Gaddafi almost landed the King of the AbaThembu, King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, in an Mthatha jail yesterday.

It took some deft pleading by the king’s lawyer to persuade a Mthatha High Court judge not to revoke Dalindyebo’s bail after the king failed to appear before the court last month.

The king has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, kidnapping, arson and extortion in the trial, which started in 2005, for alleged crimes dating back to 1995.

Dalindyebo is accused of ordering one of his subjects, Saziso Wofa, to be beaten up.

Wofa later died of his injuries.

He is also accused of ordering the kidnapping of a mother along with her children after the woman’s husband failed to pay a fine Dalindyebo had given him.

It was also revealed during the trial that the king had allegedly threatened to burn down the homes of subjects who defied his orders.

Dalindyebo denied all the allegations and distanced himself from the claims that he had ordered the crimes, saying that those who committed the crimes did so of their own will and not on his instructions.

Yesterday Dalindyebo’s legal representative, advocate Terry Price, pleaded with Judge Sytze Alkema to withdraw a warrant of arrest for the king, which had been issued after Dalindyebo failed to appear in court on August7 .

The court heard that Dalindyebo had been out of the country on a trip to Libya at the time, on an invitation by Gaddafi.

After much deliberation by the judge, and with Price pleading, “I am terribly sorry, my Lord”, the warrant was eventually withdrawn and Dalindyebo’s bail was reinstated.

Price said there might have been a misunderstanding because he did inform the State prosecutor that his client was overseas and could not attend.

Alkema accepted the argument and said he was, however, ready to deliver his judgment yesterday.

“I have already prepared a draft judgment and I am ready to deliver it,” Alkema said.

However, due to the ill health of the assessor he had to postpone judgment to October 20 so that the assessor could add his own views to the judgment.

In court yesterday, Dalindyebo seemed relaxed while he chatted with some of his subjects and family members who had come to support him.

Dalindyebo is a clan nephew of former State President Nelson Mandela .

At one stage during the marathon trial Dalindyebo conducted his own defence after his legal representatives pulled out.

The outspoken AbaThembu king was last year embroiled in a bitter argument with the Minister of Co- operative Governance, Sicelo Shiceka .

Dalindyebo told African National Congress president Jacob Zuma , who was on an election campaign visit to the AbaThembu Great Place at the time, that he did not want to see Shiceka anywhere near his Bumbane Great Place .

This was after Shiceka had allegedly made comments about a smell of dagga at the Great Place during his visit there.

Last year Dalindyebo was also involved in another battle with the law.

This was after his cousin, King Zwelenkosi Matanzima of Western Thembuland, made an urgent application to have Dalindyebo interdicted.

Matanzima was seeking to prevent Dalindyebo from installing Nkosi Dumisani Mgudlwa as chief of Qhumanco Great Place in Cofimvaba.

Dalindyebo and Matanzima exchanged words outside the courtroom.

Dalindyebo eventually won the case and installed Mgudlwa as chief against the wishes of Matanzima. - By LUBABALO NGCUKANA, Mthatha Bureau