Prince Harry has been left “in shock” after he resigned from an AIDS charity that was founded nearly 20 years ago in honor of his late mother, Princess Diana.
Harry Resigns From His Own Charity
Harry co-founded the African charity Sentebale in his mother’s honor back in 2006. On Monday, however, Harry resigned along with his co-founder, Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, and fellow trustees.
The drama revolves around the charity’s chair Sophie Chandauka, a Zimbabwean lawyer who is refusing to step down from leadership. In fact, she’s gone so far as to sue Sentebale just to keep her position.
In short, it’s a legal mess that Harry just doesn’t want to put up with any more.
“Nearly 20 years ago, we founded Sentebale in honor of our mothers,” Harry and Seeiso told Fox News. “Sentebale means ‘forget-me-not’ in Sesotho, the local language of Lesotho, and it’s what we’ve always promised for the young people we’ve served through this charity.”
“Today is no different. With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as patrons of the organization until further notice,” they continued. They did this “in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees who have had to do the same. It is devastating that the relationship between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation.”
Harry’s History With Sentebale
Harry met Seeiso when he visited Lesotho during a gap year he took in 2004. This was seven years after Diana died, and one year after Seeiso’s mother died – which made a natural bond between the two. They decided to launch Sentebale to help people living in poverty in Lesotho and Botswana. The charity was also meant to help those suffering from HIV and AIDS. This was a cause that Diana was passionate about during her life.
The Times reported that Sentebale had carried out a “restructuring” of its board. This was done as a “confirmation of its strategy to redeploy senior roles.” They wanted the roles “to be proximate to most of the team and programs in southern Africa.”
Chandauka is allegedly suing trustees of the charity after they dared to raise concerns about her leadership.
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Harry And Seeiso Are ‘In Shock’
Harry and Seeiso went on to express support for these trustees. They said that the trustees “acted in the best interest of the charity,” despite ongoing tensions with Chandauka.
“We thank all the trustees for their service over the years and are truly heartbroken they’ve had to follow through with this act,” their statement continued. “What’s transpired is unthinkable. We are in shock that we have to do this, but we have a continued responsibility to Sentebale’s beneficiaries, so we will be sharing all of our concerns with the Charity Commission as to how this came about.”
“Although we may no longer be patrons, we will always be its founders, and we will never forget what this charity is capable of achieving when it is in the right care,” Harry and Seeiso concluded.
Find out more about this in the video below.
Chandauka Fires Back
Chandauka has already fired back by accusing the princes of playing the “victim card.”
“I chose to join Sentebale first and foremost as a proud African who understands that – in the spirit of Ubuntu [interconnectedness] – to whom much is given, much is expected,” she told CBS News. “Everything I do at Sentebale is in pursuit of the integrity of the organization, its mission, and the young people we serve. My actions are guided by the principles of fairness and equitable treatment for all, regardless of social status or financial means.”
“There are people in this world who behave as though they are above the law and mistreat people, and then play the victim card and use the very press they disdain to harm people who have the courage to challenge their conduct,” Chandauka continued. “Discerning readers will ask themselves: why would the chair of the board report her own trustees to the Charity Commission? Why would the High Court of England and Wales accept her application to hear the matter at all if the case had no merit?”
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Chandauka proceeded to answer her own questions from there.
“Well, because beneath all the victim narrative and fiction that has been syndicated to press is the story of a woman who dared to blow the whistle about issues of poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir [misogyny directed towards Black women] and the cover-up that ensued. I could be anyone,” she concluded.
This is clearly a very messy situation for everyone involved. It’s unfortunate that a charity set up to do good in Diana’s memory has devolved to this extent.
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