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South African prince of Mandela's clan abducted by gunmen
AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo (3rd L) looks on with some members of his family as former South African President Nelson Mandela's flag-draped coffin arrives at the Mthatha airport, in the Eastern Cape province, 900 km (559 miles) south of Johannesburg for a funeral, December 14, 2013. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
20/05/2017
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A prince of the AbaThembu clan of South Africa's late anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has been abducted by gunmen in the city of Mtata in the Eastern Cape province, police said on Friday.
Prince Mankunku Dalindyebo is the brother of jailed King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, who began a 12-year sentence in December 2015 for arson, kidnapping and assault.
"He was abducted in Mtata at 1630 (1430 GMT) and that is all the information we have. The police are looking for him and those who took him," police spokesman Mzukisi Fatyela told Reuters. There was no known motive.
The brothers are traditional leaders of Mandela's clan in a poor, rural region of the Eastern Cape. South Africa recognizes several royal families, who command considerable respect, especially in the countryside.
Local media reported that the family has been at loggerheads over who should assume the role of acting king as the monarch serves his prison sentence, with some backing Prince Mankunku's claim to the throne.
The provincial government in February officially recognized the king's son as the acting ruler of the nation.
(Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
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