Advocate Marumo Moerane appointed to lead Ingonyama Trust Board Investigation

Advocate Marumo Moerane SC has been appointed to chair a commission investigating the governance and financial management of the Ingonyama Trust Board. The commission, made up of 11 members, is expected to complete its work within six months. Minister of Land Reform Mzwanele Nyhontso has briefed King Misuzulu kaZwelithini and the board, with both supporting the commission’s appointment. The minister will formally introduce the commission in KwaZulu-Natal in the coming weeks.

The investigation follows a series of legal and financial controversies surrounding the board. The Pietermaritzburg High Court had recently ordered Sipho Ngwenya, the former chairperson of the Ingonyama Trust Board, to repay more than R30 million to the trust within 30 days. The court found that Ngwenya, a former judge, had unlawfully transferred funds from the trust to his lawyer’s trust account without authorisation. This included money from a property sale between the eThekwini Municipality and the Ingonyama Trust.

Ngwenya had previously defied court orders issued in 2024 and 2025 that required him to justify the movement of these funds. The new commission under Advocate Moerane is expected to examine these actions along with broader governance practices at the board. The investigation comes amid ongoing tensions between the national government and the monarchy over the control and management of the Ingonyama Trust, which administers approximately 300 million hectares of land in KwaZulu-Natal.