Over the past year or so, there’s been a lot of drama within Sentebale, the Lesotho charity which was started by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso in 2006. Sentebale’s mission is supporting the children of Lesotho, mostly through funding health and education programs within the kingdom. Harry and Seeiso have always been very involved in Sentebale, and Harry’s charity polo events are always fundraisers in support of Sentebale. Well, both Harry and Seeiso are now resigning from the charity they founded, and they’re following the resignations of the board of trustees. There’s been a huge dispute, with the board of trustees and the princes on one side versus the chairwoman of the charity, Sophie Chandauka. The board asked Chandauka to step down after she made some horrendous decisions for Sentebale, and she refused, so now everyone is resigning. This story is insane and it’s wild to see everyone twist it around so it sounds like Harry is to blame in some way.
The Duke of Sussex has made the “devastating” decision to resign from his charity Sentebale amid “unthinkable” infighting in the organisation. Prince Harry, who established the African charity in 2006, has quit in solidarity with his co-founder and the entire board of trustees after “the relationship between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation”.
In an extraordinary joint statement which is yet to be officially released, Harry and his co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho wrote: “What’s transpired is unthinkable. We are in shock that we have to do this.” Sentebale, which means “Forget me not”, is in a state of crisis and The Times understands that it is now the subject of a Charity Commission investigation.
In a joint statement, Harry and Seeiso said: “Nearly 20 years ago, we founded Sentebale in honour of our mothers. 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 organisation until further notice, 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.”
It is understood that the row is centred around the chair of the board of trustees and a decision to focus fundraising largely in Africa. Sophie Chandauka, a Zimbabwe-born lawyer, was appointed to the post last year and is understood to be suing the trustees after they questioned whether she was best placed to chair the board. Siding with the departing trustees, the princes’ statement said: “These trustees acted in the best interest of the charity in asking the chair to step down, while keeping the wellbeing of staff in mind. In turn, she sued the charity to remain in this voluntary position, further underscoring the broken relationship. We thank all the trustees for their service over the years and are truly heartbroken they’ve had to follow through with this act.”
“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.”
The Charity Commission confirmed on Tuesday that an investigation was under way. A spokesman said: “We can confirm that we are aware of concerns about the governance of Sentebale. We are assessing the issues to determine the appropriate regulatory steps.”
Chandauka has refused to step down, forcing the resignation of the charity’s trustees including Mark Dyer, who served as an equerry to the King in the 1990s and has been a lifelong friend of Prince Harry.
Peppered within this report (and other reporting) are quotes and statements from “a Sentebale spokesperson” – which means Chandauka and the few remaining staff of Sentebale. As Harry and Seeiso say in their statement, this is a voluntary position and Chandauka is treating Sentebale like it’s her own personal fiefdom, refusing to resign even with the resignations of the entire board of trustees AND THE TWO FOUNDERS. (Something is pinging on my conspiracy radar, but it’s going to take a minute to put everything together.)
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Dm and piers and t i n a are at work with articles blaming Meghan for it all.
The CEO will probably call out racism/sexism and the rats will pile on that way.
She already has from the version that I read.
Already has.
The crazy thing is that three of the four Board of Trustees members are women…none of whom are white (one is Black).
I smell fraud. She wouldn’t dig in like that unless she has something serious to hide.
Thankfully she is not involved in this charity at all.
Huh?
@Kingston, I might be wrong, but I think Julia is saying that Meghan is not involved with Sentebale, thankfully. Any BM blaming her, is off their seats/charts. This has nothing to do with Meghan.
As my granny use to say “IT TAKES ONE ROTTEN APPLE 🍎 TO SPOIL THE WHOLE BAG OF APPLES 🍎
My heart breaks for both of the Princes… a nephew of mine had the charity he founded taken over in a similar manner. The charity didn’t last long, I imagine the same will happen to Sentebale and that only hurts those who need the help the most. What a shame.
I hope she isn’t planning to use the charities funds to fight her cause.
It’s possible the resignations were to prevent that from happening.
She already used the founds, not just one time according to one of the board member. I think that was one of the reason she was asked to resign. Sentebale worked for 20 years withouth probleme this women came in 2023 took over and the whole board resign, she does not think at all, that the money that came in was because of the founders and the board members work, they are out i wonder how much money she could get withouth their support
Wow 😮 how the heck did she get appointed in the first place?!
20 years worth of work with that charity gone in a puff. I hope the two princes can claw it back.
I hope they can too.
Anyone else think Charles installed a reckless chairwoman to tank Harry’s charity or is it just me?
You’re not the only one. She got an MBE didn’t she? Was it for sabotage? Cluck and Huevo love rewarding the sycophants who go after H&M on their orders with “Honours”…
I don’t see a conspiracy. I see an entitled woman who has placed herself and her opinions above all (something we see happening a lot in the world today), including the health of the organization she was given the privilege of stewarding.
Do you mean specifically women or any entitled person?
Wondering the same thing.
The OP said: “I see an entitled woman…..”
Reading, with understanding, is fundamental.
She means “entitled.” No worries, it’s not uncommon to misinterpret a writer’s intent now and then.
Same. I don’t see anything more than one sh*tty person being so self involved that she would let a whole board quit before she steps down.
This is incredibly sad and my heart goes out to all the young people who were benefiting from the charity.
They’re the ones who are going to ultimately pay the price. Incredibly sad!
Interesting. What makes this woman think she knows more than the founding patrons who have been funding this organization for 20+ years. Feeding information to the UK gutter press will not endear her to the folks who need the services the most. Ultimately the children/young adults will suffer as she try’s to build a kingdom off the work of the two princes and the board of trustees. Sounds incredibly suspicious to me. Ultimately she will step down but at what cost to this very worthy organization. Hope the princes will step back in to steer this ship once she is gone.
This! We have 2 princes stepping back from a foundation they started for the good of children.
Two princes’s that love children and are concerned for their well-being. For two decades.
Very suss.
I have many questions. Many, many questions. It’s quite possible that Chandauka sees this as a British colonial enterprise and wants to elevate Africans in the organization. It’s also possible that she’s a chaos agent sowing discord to advance her own interests. I shall await answers but I’m not sure the Charity Commission can deliver them. Sad all around.
Dyer resigning (colonial) and the two princes resigning (classist) mean she’s probably one very paranoid woman with Diana pretensions. But how will Sentebale’s mission change as a result or will it need to be dissolved?
A pity because the name is so beautiful.
I agree. While this clearly sounds like a mess, I’m not understanding exactly what went down: she “was appointed” to the position…presumably by the board? Who else might have appointed her?
And the drama Identified in the article only indicates that the Board has subsequently questioned whether she is right for the job. While suing over that seems disproportionate (was it more than questioning her fitness for the gig, and actively trying to fire her?), I have so many questions about why she was appointed in the first place and what has changed since – what made them wonder that she may not be fit for this after all?
There are just too many unanswered questions here…
Something very similar happened at a non-profit where a friend of mine works. The new Chair is a woman from Nigeria – it was a voluntary position, but she was using the organisation’s funds for personal gain: only travelling in first class (usual is economy plus for long flights or business is the person is older), wanting to only stay at 5 star hotels, etc. When people spoke out against her behaviour, she accused them of racism and sexism, getting them fired. Over half the staff and the board are gone now, and their donors are withholding until this is figured out. But in the mean time, she’s still there, flying first and representing the organisation in her fancy hotels, bleeding them dry. I bet it’s somethings similar here.
That’s essentially what Naomi Campbell was accused and found to have done – she’s been banned for 5 years from being a charity trustee.
I truly don’t understand. If they started the charity, how can the charity itself push them out? And what is to gain by doing that? surely they don’t think they can get a better public profile fundraiser than Prince Harry?
The structure of a good charity doesn’t depend on one person. They are structured so that ideally they can outlive the founders. The control is vested in the board of directors which ideally has set terms (so no one person has undue influence) and that allows for them to even remove a founder if that person engages in behavior that harms the organization.
What you are saying should be the ideal but is not the reality in Africa. I work with two health charities in Africa for the last 10 years. If Just 1 main funder /sponsor pulls out the organization can go crashing! It is a big Privilege to have Prince Harry as a Patron of an African Charity. Many charities in Africa don’t have that opportunity! Charities aside even the US pulling funds out of USAID is causing havoc to many Health ministries in Africa. Lay offs and uncertain future for HIV patients and poor pregnant women abound.
The charity itself didn’t force or kick them out. They left in union with the trustees. They are probably assisting any investigation in the charity and will likely start another similar charity to replace Sentebale. It’s sad because so much love, work and impact has happened within Sentebale in the last 19 years. I hope that there is some way of them recovering for those who have been helped .
Jeebus! You read that and understood from it that the charity kicked the founders out? What the h3ll is happening to reading comprehension these days?! Help!!!
What’s behind Chandauka’s hubris? Refusing to step down after the board asked her to resign is some next-level narcissism. Someone’s pulling the strings here, and I’m betting it’s someone close to Charles and Will. I wouldn’t put it past them.
I am suspicious too
I think huevo and Charles covet invict us or would work to get Mike to take it over
I find this part of Chandauka’s statement mighty curious, very pointed and definitely not as generalized/obscure as she prolly thought it would safely land, especially the part in all-caps.:
“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.”
She strikes me as someone with an inferiority complex masquerading as superiority and self-confidence. She’s leaning heavily on the race and gender card and, for some curious reason, has great faith in the british legal system and press:
She said: “…………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?”
And: “I just happen to be an educated woman who understands that the law will guide and protect me.”
Too many red flags pointing to this person receiving her instructions and assistance from Shithole Isle.
Nothing would keep me in a position where I am so profoundly unwanted that everyone resigns in order to not work with me. What happened to shame?
Nothing to lose I suspect. Don’t know her background but if she wants relevancy, she’d got it now in the worst possible way.
My alarm bells went off when I learned that Dr Sophie Chandauka, who’s got an impressive CV on paper, went to The Scum to complain about the misogynoir treatment that she was apparently subjected to.
I am looking forward to what the Charity Commision will unearth, but I hate that both Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso are treated differently in the media than any charity-related mishaps and scandals happening to and with the Left-Behind Windsor-Wailses.
Oh well. There we go. Hope she’s happy with what she’s done. Forcing the founders to resign is one big fuck-up. Not her charity.
This feels weird. I will reserve judgment until things shake out. Trying not to see conspiracies everywhere, use common sense and not attribute to mailce that which can be attributed to incompetence (or hubris) but I don’t put anything past anyone to try and control/screw over those the RF cannot lord over. Especially with Meghan being in her unbothered, clapback era.
https://www.lbc.co.uk/hot-topics/royals/harry-african-charity-racism-sexism/
Link includes incendiary statement made by Chairman clearly aimed at Prince Harry.
She’s angling for a damehood then? Camilla will be pleased.
This! We have 2 princes stepping back from a foundation they started for the good of children.
Two princes that love children and are concerned for their well-being. For two decades.
Very suss. LOL! @ the two princes participating in misogynoir. Strange things happening.
Why didn’t the board fire her?
She wouldn’t go.
They tried to, which is what triggered her into reporting the trustees (Harry and Seeiso aren’t trustees) to the Charity Commission and suing the charity! In effect, a kind of coup. The trustees had to resign and the co-founders/patrons then resigned in solidarity.
But what I don’t understand is that it was first reported that the board of trustees opposed the appointment of this very chair person. If not the board of trustees, who appoints the chair?
My brain went to conspiracy too, mainly because the charity has (seemed to?) function well for nearly two decades and now with this relatively new chairperson it all goes POOF and Harry gets blamed? I guess truth will out eventually but not before dragging Harry’s reputation, this time for his charitable endeavors through the dirt again…
…I keep hearing a whisper “AFRICA IS MINE HAROLD”….
Yup, their tentacles are far and wide.
She wants to fundraise from Africa!!! It works this way. Her target donors will be politicians. They are the population with access to huge resources. They will use Sabtebele to funnel/launder looted finds out of Africa to Europe. Example is Charlie’s bag of cash from the studies.
How can corrupt, rich politicians in poor countries fundraise for Sentebale when these politicians should actually be using their public position to divert public funding to address the needs that Sentebale has raised? Sounds like double dipping for them.
Dr Chandauka appeared to criticise the duke for going to the press and “playing the victim card”.
Chairman She said in a statement: “Everything I do at Sentebale is in pursuit of the integrity of the organisation, 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.”
She also claimed she had reported trustees to the Charity Commission and that the High Court had issued an emergency injunction to prevent her removal.
She’s the one playing the victim card when the founders and trustees have already resigned.
Hello? The problem is her, not them. But if she’s a Palace plant then credit must go to the Windsors for their neverending hurt to Harry.
In her own statement, Dr Chandauka said she would not be intimidated, adding: “For me, this is not a vanity project from which I can resign when I am called to account.”
She said she had reported the trustees to the Charity Commission and that a UK court had issued an injunction to stop them removing her.
“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,” Dr Chandauka said.
She added that this was a “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 – and the cover-up that ensued”.
Per CNN: Britain’s PA Media news agency “said she [Chandauka] claimed she had reported the trustees to the UK’s Charity Commission and that a UK court had issued an injunction to stop her dismissal. CNN has not seen a copy of the alleged injunction from the UK’s High Court. A source familiar with the matter told CNN that no such order had been issued.”
AFAICT the fullest report being given to any news orgs is Chandauka’s self-serving statement about how she’s not leaving and claiming some unnamed people (not her) are guilty of bullying, misogyny, misogynoir, etc, etc.
Guess I won’t be using that donation form on Sentebale’s website (page that’s now rendering poorly). Nor will American Friends of Sentebale be getting my support in any other way without Harry or Seesio involved.
I don’t understand why Chandawuka is involving UK courts, isn’t Sentbale based in Lesotho? Lesotho is not a country ruled by Britain. Lesotho gained her independence in 1966, all matters concerning any charities in Lesotho are brought before Lesotho courts, not before any British courts. For British courts to get involved in Sentebale disputes would be ultra vires.
Harry didn’t go to the press to “play the victim card” SHE did. She went to one of the worst British tabloids out there. There is something VERY fishy with this. When the board and the two founders resign over you then you must have done something awful.
She’s gone on a public attack so she’s definitely hiding something.
This is sad and her statement to the Sun was unhinged.
It sounds to me as if she is trying to take advantage of a hostile British press. It is ironic that she is accusing among others the two princes of racism.
Sexism + classism.
So she made her statement specifically to the Sun? That’s the part that bothers me. No idea what has gone down and I imagine details will emerge. But she could have chosen many outlets to give her statement to and she happens to choose the Sun to make a statement about racism and misogny? A paper known for writing headline steeped in those very things. Why not the guardian or The BBC? But a Murdoch outlet? Unless I’m misunderstanding and she just gave a blanket statement that all the papers are reporting on?
Possibly the BBC and The Guardian were too smart to give her a platform?
Former trustees Timothy Boucher, Mark Dyer, Audrey Kgosidintsi, Dr Kelello Lerotholi and Damian West described their decision as “nothing short of devastating” for all of them.
They said they had lost trust and confidence in the chairwoman but her legal action to block them from removing her meant they had no other option than to resign.
They said this was in the “best interest of the charity”, as it could not take on the “legal and financial burden” of the lawsuit.
How sad for the charity. I hope it survives this.
In Africa, we have seen this script many times. A prestigious NGO with respected global names attached to it. Next, the board is taken over by well meaning African politicians and businesses persons (both are same people here). The Charity becomes a perfect money laundering condit. She didn’t bargain on the two Princeses resigning. She obviously thought that they will be too emotionally attached to the charity they founded to resign.
I hate that it’s happened to Sentebale. If she wants to be the face of money laundering so be it. Harry has too much integrity – remember how he declined the Middle Eastern bags of money unlike his father.
Oh, dear.
This is terrible. There’s a new head of Invictus coming in I believe. I hope they were well vetted because this is hella suspicious.
ITA. 🙁
I do wonder how long she has been planning this. Call me a conspiracy theorist but, I had my doubts about her a while back, when the “derangers” were making a huge noise on Twitter about how Meghan was trying to edge her out of the photos – which clearly wasn’t true. I don’t know why (and I have nothing to back it up) but, the way the “derangers” were championing this woman just seemed off, it was almost as if the posts were planned. Apologies if this post doesn’t make sense but, it was just a feeling I had about her back then and these events appear to support my doubts about her.
who will the Chairman be recruiting as her new patrons? Prince Wilbur and Rupert Murdoch perhaps?
Useful guidance to various official roles within a charity.
https://www.ncvo.org.uk/help-and-guidance/governance/what-is-governance/trustees-and-their-roles/trustee-roles/#the-chair
https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/4022923/trustees
SENTEBALE names of 4 new trustees appointed yesterday.
Who appointed the new ones? Her? What a poisoned chalice to sit on that board.
I see where one of the new board members is big into the minerals and oil industry, two are senior medical professors and professionals, and one is in technology enablement and revenue generation strategies as businesses grow or gain strategic funding. She’s chaired boards of many companies in governance, audit, and compensation. She was appointed to the Advisory Council for the Export-Import Bank of the United States in 2022.
Chandauka has clearly been planning this coup for a long time, you don’t just round up talent like that on the spur of the moment. I’m currently reading a tell-all book by Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former Facebook executive, and it’s a barn-burner. Zuckerberg comes off as a total antisocial megalomaniac, and he went to court to legally bar her from promoting it. It details how Facebook’s managerial disputes and failures during the time it was rapidly expanding around the globe, had dire and fatal effects. Despite being legally banned from promoting it, the book is now a New York Times number one bestseller. That Chandauka is working with Facebook sends off some warning signals in my head.
William is not clever enough to pull off a coup, but some palace courtiers may be, and may be working in tandem with the Chair person.
This.
I’m not saying there is definitely a plot. HOWEVER, if there was, I do not think Willam is sharp enough or proactive enough to pull it off without serious men in gray minions doing all the heavy lifting.
This happened to a non-profit I was involved with. A board member tried to hijack the board and oust the founder. The founder stood firm and the whole thing went to court. The founder won, but the legal fees almost bankrupted the organization. It took several years to get back to normal.
It’s really shocking how often stuff like this happens. A friend was a fundraiser for a local charity for 10+ years, the charity decided to expand. It moved the man who had been leading out of his face to face role, and they hired someone who had a friend on the board to take over the daily stuff. She’d never worked for a charity or even volunteered at this one. And she ran the whole staff off within 6 months, and I haven’t heard about the charity since. Not as bad as trying to turn it into a money laundering operation, but they did such important work and it’s awful.
It doesn’t feel good to hear these sad stories about worthwhile charities. Not sure what’s up with MBE corporate finance lawyer Chandauka, but running off the entire board and both founders sure doesn’t bode well for any fundraising she has in mind – assuming she’s interesting in it long term.
Oh Harry. I’m so sorry you had to do that. That charity was extremely close to your heart, but you did what you had to do.
Meh. I don’t know if this is as controversial as it sounds. A lot of African govts, orgs, and businesses, are trying to move to a model of self sufficiency without the help of Western money or influence. It seems like Chandauka wants the same for Sentebale. I tried to do a quick Google image search and the pics I got of the BoT looks like a lot of non Black folks. Maybe she wants the leaders of the org to look more like the youths it serves.
I’d have more to say if there were specifics released with get exact plans and how they compare to how the org was being run before but here we are. The biggest controversy to me is that Chandauka currently works in a high level job at Facebook
I used @LadyDigby’s link above, all the pics I saw are of the trustees she appointed. Only one is Black. I couldn’t find of the ones who resigned (I didn’t look very hard, I’m in a rush.)
By all means, let africans start, run and manage charities that benefit africans. But dont get started by parasiting yourself on a successful 20-yr old charitable organization.
Please, let’s not pretend that Prince Seiso is a white man, what are some people insinuating? And where were all these good Africans when the two founders were founding Sentebale? Now that it’s a respectable organization, now Africans want to run it and have people that look like them in top positions? Why not start one of their own? And trust me, one thing Africans are famous for is corruption and bribery; and this corruption and shamelessly taking bribes resulting in running good organizations into the ground. Believe me, this organization will collapse sooner that everyone thinks. And I’m saying all this as a Ugandan. Unless of course Zuckerberg has his sights on it and wants to take it over. The one thing this woman overlooked is Trump’s halting any and all monies going to Africa. Sentebale without Princes Seiso and Harry will not stand.
The problem now is does this woman have receipts, proof of mismanagement or criminal wrongdoing by the trustees? Or do the trustees have evidence of wrongdoing of her and she went to the High Commission to avoid exposure, termination and possible prosecution? I want to see specifics.
They were the ones who initially wanted to fire her. This investigation will come to nothing she is just being stubborn.
Feel awful for the children and the princes. The decision to resign a charity founded in their mothers’ honor is a freaking red flag against the Chairwoman. And her statement, throwing shade at them, does her no favors
Does she have the three letters after her name? Not saying that’s an automatic red flag but still. But these things happen, I work for a non-profit and the person who founded the organization was fired by the board because she refused to take a pay cut among other things, and she sued.
The fact that the chairwoman used the law to stay in place demonstrates extreme obstination and lack of humility two no no with charitable organizations.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/where-the-charity-commission-investigates-charities/where-the-charity-commission-investigates-charities
Link setting out what could happen next for Sentebale investigation by the Charity Commission in the UK .
This is all very strange. If the entire board and both founding patrons resign en masse, what does that even mean for the charity? Who owns the name and more importantly, the funds? Charities are serious businesses and we tend to gloss over the nuts and bolts because they’re non- profits and we focus on the good causes itself. I hope this is resolved but the damage is done. Leadership is sometimes difficult and messy.
Link to officers past 33 resignations and current 6 at Sentebale
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/05747857/officers
Thanks for these links Lady Digby — I noticed it said Sophie Chandauka resigned from the Sentebale board in 2015, yet here she is back again with a vengeance. What’s that all about….inquiring minds want to know.
Dr Chandauka previously served on the board at Sentebale from 2009 to 2015, before later returning to become the organisation’s chair in July 2023.
Thanks for the links to officers Lady Digby. So… the only Certified Chartered Accountant on the board, Timothy Bouchet, resigned March 24, 2025, and Chandauka hasn’t seen fit to get another accountant on board.
“A source close to the situation told Vanity Fair that the trustees who resigned were concerned about financial mismanagement during Chandauka’s tenure, and that the relationship began to fray starting in December.”
In addition to the mass exodus three other recent resignations: James Marshall, Director and CEO, 2/19/25; Dr. Tsitsi Chawatama, Director and Consultant Pediatrician, 2/21/25; Richard Miller, Secretary, 1/4/25. On 10/31/24, Baroness Chalker of Wallasey Director, resigned, but she issued a statement then: “her commitment to the charity and the Duke of Sussex remains unwavering,” so she doesn’t appear to be part of apparent purge.
I hope everyone takes the time to read Dr. Chandauka’s statement. I don’t say this as a means to wholesale accept her version/defence, but more so to provide a complete picture of the story.
Those without any (unfortunate) experience in the charity/non-for profit sector might be blindly led to believe this is a clear cut case of a woman gone rogue for self-serving reasons.
If experience has taught me anything, it’s that in times of crisis/conflict you have to be exceptionally skeptical of those who publicly champion certain social justice values, and watch how power operates to quell anything that challenges the existing status quo — no matter how much dissonance between values and actions it entails.
Dr. Chandauka’s launches some curious allegations about whistleblowing and abuse of power in institutions. I have seen firsthand how quickly a whistleblower can be framed as a embittered rogue actor, and how swiftly those in power jump to protect one another from this kind of conduct ever seeing the light of day.
So, you believe both Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso are hiding something bad. Harry who has the whole british press after him is intentionally allowing bad behavior in the charity he founded for his mother? I don’t think it was good idea for her to go to the daily mail or any other tabloid to talk about this. If the founders of the charity don’t want you managing their foundation, it is a little weird not to resign. Harry is the one organizing events to get the funds to run the charity. He isn’t some rich guy founded a charity and forgot about it.
@champagne problems
You’re leaving out the “small” FACT that Sophie Chandauka has been on the board of trustees since 2008!!! So if everything is working so wrong, what has she been doing for those 16 years???!!!
AR – Please refer to Lady Digby’s link showing officer tenure. Sophie Chandauka served as Director from 12/15/2008 to 3/19/2015. From 3/19/2015 to 7/13/2023 she had no official position at Sentebale. On 7/13/2023 she was reappointed as Director and became chair of the board of trustees some time last year (2024). Her tenure is not “16 years.”
@KIRK
Thanks for the correction. I was using the Wikipedia information, which doesn’t say anything about leaving in 2015, so I wrongly assumed it was a continuous job. It doesn’t change the fact I wanted to point out that Sophie Chandauka was associated with Sentebale.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charity-inquiry-the-captain-tom-foundation
Link to a recent charity inquiry and its findings to give you an idea of that what could happen if these concerns escalate into a full inquiry. It is important for public confidence that Sentebale is being run properly so why not have an inquiry?
I think it’s a lot more complicated and it does no one any favors to disparage her without knowing the facts. The fact that there was no way this could be worked out beyond this is not a good look for any of the principles involved. Everyone has been at this for years so it’s really shocking that this is the result .
IMHO: there are enough facts about Chandauka for me to pull any planned gifts to Sentebale, and the only “principle” it’s not a good look for is Sophia Chandauka. I’ll withhold judgment on her new fakey directors, but right now they look like sleaze by association.
I hope that Prince Harry and Meghan’s other foundations have safeguards in place to prevent such “takeovers” of honorary directors in the future
They should review everything and mane sure everything is
https://feminegra.com/with-heavy-hearts-prince-harry-and-prince-seeiso-resign-from-sentebale/
Blog on chairman’s incendiary statement being gleefully reported by the tabs as it leans into their own narratives about Harry. It is all very sad.
I’m confused… the CotB is not responsible for daily operations. Who’s the CEO?
Think I read that a South African woman was appointed acting or interim CEO of Sentebale last year.
Yep the tabloids are excited , Harry is to blame for all of it apparently .
Stories everywhere on my news feed this morning ,
Got something else now to put him down about .
Why am I not surprised .
Worked in nonprofit leadership for decades, have seen this scenario play out before – there’s only one reason a chairperson would dig in heels like that, and it’s tied to financial gain or covering up malfeasance. This exact scenario played out when one nonprofit board discovered the chairperson was writing checks to themselves and the board did not turn it into authorities to prevent harm to the brand, but did resign so as to not be legally implicated. Another scenario where a chairperson wanted to accept donations from an unethical source and forced it through – board resigned to not be implicated in that, either. Just because someone has a great resume and even lived experience does not make them an ethical person. Nonprofits are easier to hide within.
A Trojan horse maybe-I just read something in People saying she tried a hostile takeover of something in London-Her wikipedia has be dropped-something about her reasoning is not good-one sponsor spoke that she used $600,ooo dollars for a consultation on how to raise money without the boards’s permission-I am sure more info about her is forthcoming-this charity has been working for over 20 years to help people with HIV- USAID is being torn down by Mr. Trump and MR. MUsk-the entire board and its founders did the right thing and let the chips fall where they may.