The Thembu kingdom is at loggerheads over who will succeed jailed King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo after he anointed his eldest son, Prince Azenathi Dalindyebo, as his successor. A rival faction in the Thembu royal family has described this nomination as illegal and against tradition - and has said it will not recognise Prince Azenathi's ascension to the throne.Nkosi Daludumo Mtirara, spokesman for the Royal Family of the Kingdom of the AbaThembu - a faction that has lobbied for Dalindyebo to be dethroned - said this week that meetings with the various royal family clans would take place next week, starting on Monday at the Bumbane Great Place in Mthatha, Eastern Cape.Last year it was reported that the faction wanted Dalindyebo's younger brother, Prince Mankunku Mthandeki Dalindyebo, to replace the dagga-smoking king.story_article_left1Dalindyebo began serving the first day of his 12-year sentence for assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm, arson and kidnapping at Wellington Prison in Mthatha on Wednesday night after a failed last-ditch effort by his lawyers to keep him out of prison."We are going to be guided by our traditions and the act that governs traditional leaders," said Daludumo, referring to the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Amendment Act. He said Prince Azenathi's appointment would not stand until proper processes had been followed."According to our traditions and the law ... a ruling king cannot appoint a successor while he is on the throne. Until midnight [Wednesday] he was the king, so he could not appoint his successor. Now that he is in prison, the [royal] family will decide," he said. "He [Dalindyebo] was pushing his own agenda, against the law and our traditions."Among the concerns are that none of Dalindyebo's wives are from royal bloodlines, so none of his children can be appointed king.Dalindyebo's spokesman, Mfundo Mtirara, was adamant on Thursday morning that Prince Azenathi was replacing his father. But contacted later for clarity because of the conflict over the succession plan, he retracted his statement and declined to comment.Nkosi Phathekile Holomisa, a Thembu traditional leader, said the issue was over who would act in Dalindyebo's place while he was incarcerated: " [Dalindyebo] anticipated this by convening a meeting of the AmaDlomo, where it was decided that his eldest son will be acting while he was away."But he admitted there was opposition . " The point is that this is an acting position ; it's not a permanent appointment because the ... king is just temporarily away," he said.Dalindyebo was moved from Wellington Prison to a maximum-security centre in East London hours after he handed himself over at 11.40pm on Wednesday. The move was over fears for his safety.story_article_right2"We can confirm that after a security assessment and classification, [Dalindyebo] was moved to the East London maximum centre earlier today," said Correctional Services Department spokesman Manelisi Wolela.Dalindyebo's lawyer, Zehir Omar, said no reasons were given to him for the move.Dalindyebo was convicted in connection with incidents dating back to 1995 when he fined a subject because the man's goats had trespassed.But the man did not pay the fine and, according to court papers, the king and a group of men arrived at the man's homestead and set fire to his dwellings - and then kidnapped the man's wife and six children.In a separate incident, Dalindyebo asked his subjects to bring a villager to him amid accusations that the man had committed rape, housebreaking and theft. The man was beaten and died before he reached the king's homestead.Dalindyebo was originally convicted of culpable homicide and convicted to 15 years in prison, but this was overturned and his sentence reduced to 12 years.Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa chairman Nkosi Mwelo Nonkonyana said the final hope for Dalindyebo's freedom now rested with President Jacob Zuma to consider a presidential pardon.savidesm@sundaytimes.co.za..