Following Prince Harry’s exit from Sentebale, drama ensued — including a person falsely claiming to be the brother of cofounder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho.
After the person’s inaccurate claims made headlines, Us Weekly learned that Principal Chief Khoabane Theko isn’t Seeiso’s brother and has no connection to the charity.
Among the many allegations Theko claimed to The Telegraph on Wednesday, April 16, was that Harry could have visited Lesotho “more often.” Harry’s 2024 visit to Lesotho marked his first in six years (including two years at the peak of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic). He had previously traveled there 4 times between 2010 and 2015.
Theko, for his part, claimed he was “perturbed” to see Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, taking a visit to Africa in September 2019 without going to Lesotho. (Throughout the trip, the couple had a busy itinerary with meeting Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a tour of the District Six Museum, a visit to Monwabisi Beach and planting trees on the Chobe Forest Tree Reserve, amongst other things.)
“When [Sentebale] was launched, I remember his words quite vividly, because he was very strong in saying ‘my mother, [Princess Diana], this place, her passion about Africa’ and all that,” Theko alleged. “He’s a loved figure due to his openness, but his lack of interest has totally killed the spirit of the Sentebale’s survival. I haven’t seen [Harry] since he got himself married.”
Us Weekly reached out to Harry’s rep for comment.
Harry tied the knot with Markle in 2018, with the couple happening to welcome son Archie, 5, and daughter Lilibet, 3.
Harry and Seeiso launched the charity in 2006 to support children in Lesotho coping with poverty and HIV/AIDS. The charity included a nod to Diana, with the name translating to “forget-me-not” — her favorite flower. (Diana died in 1997 on the age of 36.)
In March, Harry and Seeiso announced they stepped down from the charity. The move was in solidarity with several trustees, who had announced their exits amid tensions with chair of the board Dr. Sophie Chandauka.
Prince Harry said he was “in shock” on Tuesday, March 25, as he resigned as patron of Sentebale, the charity he created in 2006. Harry, 40, and cofounder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho said Tuesday that that they had stepped down from the charity in solidarity with several trustees, who also announced their exits Tuesday amid tensions […]
“It’s devastating that the connection between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation,” Harry and Seeiso said in a joint statement obtained by multiple outlets.
Harry and Seeiso alleged that Chandauka sued the charity after being asked to depart her position.
“We’re in shock that we now have to do that, but we now have a continued responsibility to Sentebale’s beneficiaries, so we might be sharing all of our concerns with the [U.K.] Charity Commission as to how this got here about,” the statement added.
Chandauka, for her part, accused the charity of “poor governance, weak executive management [and] abuse of power” in an announcement to Us.
Prince Harry announced his shocking departure from Sentebale, the charity he cofounded in 2006, on Tuesday, March 25. Harry, 40, and cofounder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho said they resigned in solidarity with several trustees, who also announced their exits amid conflict with the chair of the board, Dr. Sophie Chandauka. “It’s devastating that the […]
“There are people on this world who behave as if they’re above the law and mistreat people, after which play the victim card and use the very press they disdain to harm individuals who have the courage to challenge their conduct,” Chandauka said. “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 listen to the matter in any respect if the case had no merit?”
She continued, “Well, because beneath all of the victim narrative and fiction that has been syndicated to press is the story of a girl who dared to blow the whistle about problems with poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir — and the coverup that ensued.”
