The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) today (****) held that the gender equality provision of the Constitution does not operate to restore a traditional royal line that passed to a male heir in 1968.

During 1968 Hosi (Chief) Fofoza , the chief of the Valoyi tribe died without male heirs. The tribal custom of male primogeniture precluded his daughter from inheriting the chieftainship, as a result of which the chieftainship passed to his brother, who died in 2001. The right of his eldest son to succeed to the chieftainship of the tribe was disputed by the daughter of Hosi Fofoza ,who claimed that the Constitution had had the effect of abolishing the custom of male primogeniture, and that she was entitled to succeed, which was supported by the tribal hierarchy.

The son of the deceased Hosi brought an application to the High Court for an order declaring that he was the rightful successor. His claim was upheld and the SCA confirmed the decision of the High Court. It held that it was not necessary to decide whether the Constitution had abolished the custom of male primogeniture because the inheritance had passed upon the death of Hosi Fofoza in 1968, and the daughter of Hosi Fofoza had no right to succeed to the chieftainship at that stage. Since then the rightful successor had died and the inheritance correctly passed to his descendants.