A South African king who is a nephew of the late Nelson Mandela has begun a 12-year prison sentence for kidnapping, assault and arson.
King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo reported to prison after his legal attempts to overturn his conviction failed.
According to BBC, the case against King Dalindyebo was related to a dispute he had with some of his subjects about two decades ago.
King Dalindyebo 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.
He handed himself to prison authorities in the eastern city of Mthatha in compliance with a court order after a judge refused to extend his bail on Wednesday.
Earlier, Justice Minister Michael Masutha turned down his request for a retrial, saying there was no legal justification for doing so.
King Dalindyebo had maintained his innocence, saying he disciplined his subjects under customary law.
Sentencing him in October, the Supreme Court of Appeal said: "His behaviour was all the more deplorable because the victims of his reign of terror were the vulnerable rural poor, who were dependent upon him. Our constitution does not countenance such behaviour.
"We are a constitutional democracy in which everyone is accountable and where the most vulnerable are entitled to protection."
There is already talk of his son, Prince Azenethi Dalindyebo, being crowned as the next monarch.
South Africa has 10 officially recognised monarchs representing different ethnic groups and clans.They play a largely ceremonial role, and attend to minor disputes within their communities. King Dalindyebo is the first monarch to be jailed in South Africa since minority rule ended in 1994.
Good news! no one should be above the law
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