South Africa’s justice minister has thrown out a bid by the King Dalindyebo to reopen his criminal trial so that he can avoid serving twelve years in prison, the BBC reports.
Justice Minister Michael Masutha made the announcement on Tuesday afternoon.
On December twenty-three, Dalindyebo received a reprieve when the Eastern Cape High Court in Mthatha granted him a bail extension until December thirty.
On the same day, he had sent an urgent appeal to Masutha.
The case against King Dalindyebo was related to a dispute he had with some of his subjects more than two decades ago.
He was accused of kidnapping a woman and her six children, setting their home on fire and beating up four youths, one of whom died, because one of their relatives had failed to present himself before the king’s traditional court.