Racist Sodwana Bay guest house owner Andre Slade, who infamously refused to allow black people to stay at his establishment, is in the midst of a fight with the Zulu king. According to Times Select, Slade has refused to pay rent to King Goodwill Zwelithini, who owns the land on which he lives.
Slade reportedly received a letter of demand for R62,584 in rental arrears from the Ingonyama Trust, which manages the land owned by Zwelithini. Slade reportedly refused to pay because he did not recognise the authority of the king.
"In the name of Yahweh, almighty God, we refuse to recognise and respect the so-called Zulu king. King is God's title, yet the first commandment of God says 'thou shall have no other gods before me'," he reportedly wrote on his website.
Two years ago, Slade said he refused to accommodate black people at his guest house because they were created to be servants. According to Eyewitness News (EWN), In February, the Equality Court fined Slade R50,000 after finding that his comments amounted to discrimination on the grounds of race. Slade said he intends to appeal.
In June last year, the Sunday Times revealed that Slade is under investigation for shooting dead an unarmed burglar who entered his home.
In an interview, he said: "We are not the kind of people who have a lot of remorse because the Bible says to us ... if he comes into your house at night you may kill him, no matter if he is white or black."
Ingonyama Trust chair Jerome Ngwenya told Times Select this week that Slade had signed a 40-year lease with the trust, and had had no objections to any of the clauses in the contract at the time.
"He is in arrears with his rental for over two years. As a result, the Ingonyama Trust has instructed its attorneys to take legal action against Mr Slade. We are advised a letter of demand has already been sent. This will be followed by a summons seeking to recover outstanding rental and eviction of Mr Slade.
"When the local inkosi and his council and ultimately the board allotted him land, it did so in good faith as a citizen of the country, regardless of his racial, tribal and religious background. He had the opportunity to object to any clause in the lease agreement he found incompatible. He did not do so. His conduct and attitude as now demonstrated are despicable and warrant condemnation," Ngwenya reportedly said.