Chair Of Prince Harry’s Africa Charity Accuses Him Of ‘Harassment & Bullying At Scale’

Sophie Chanduaka, chair of the Sentebale charity Prince Harry co-founded, has called out Harry for “harassment and bullying” following the announcement of his resignation last week.

In 2006, Harry founded Sentebale alongside Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to help young people battle health issues such as AIDS and HIV in the southern African nations of Lesotho and Botswana.

Last week, Harry and Seeiso said in a joint statement that “with heavy hearts” they had quit as patrons, in solidarity with the five trustees who resigned over an internal dispute with Chandauka when she refused to step down from her position after being asked.

They stated, “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… 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.”

When asked to step down from her position, Chandauka sued the charity to remain its chair, alleging there was misconduct at the charity in a statement following Harry and Seeiso’s on Tuesday.

In an interview with Sky News that aired on Sunday, Chandauka said, “At some point on Tuesday, Prince Harry authorized the release of a damaging piece of news to the outside world without informing me or my country directors or my executive director.”

She continued, “And can you imagine what that attack has done for, on me, and the 540 individuals in the Sentebale organizations and their families? That is an example of bullying and harassment at scale.”

Chandauka specifically remembered the ways in which Harry would try to utilize the charity for his own benefit in the social eye, requesting that the charity give statements of support to him and his wife, Meghan Markle, during periods of public scrutiny.

Following Harry and Seeiso’s announcement on Tuesday, Chandauka released her own statement, calling out, “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 asserted, “Beneath all of 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 and the cover-up that ensued.”

Former Sentebale trustee Kelello Lerotholi responded to Chandauka’s accusations with surprise, telling Sky News, “This all came as a shock to me when I heard.”