The Times of London had a big story about Sentebale and Sophie Chandauka over the weekend, which I covered on Sunday. The sense I’m getting – and this happened back in March and April as well – is that the British press knows full well that Chandauka is a liar, a con artist and a grifter. They just enjoy amplifying her bullsh-t because she’s attacking Prince Harry and Meghan, which is why they’re still giving her lies and her grift the patina of sincerity. The Times reported that since the trustees, Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso all stepped down from Sentebale, Chandauka has effectively mothballed the charity’s operations, helping children with HIV. She’s also looted the charity’s reserves. Well, the Mail had another exclusive – much of it is a rehash of the back-and-forth, but there’s some new info here:
Harry plans to launch a new venture: Prince Harry is planning to outflank the boardroom rival who accused him of bullying by launching a new African children’s charity, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. The Duke of Sussex last week walked away from Sentebale following a damning report into an explosive race row. But sources say he is determined to continue the work of the charity, which he co-founded with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006 in honour of their mothers. ‘The Duke is anxious that the fight against poverty and Aids in Lesotho and Botswana carries on,’ said an insider. ‘He and Prince Seeiso are keen to work together on a new venture. They are talking about setting up a new charity or clubbing together to support other existing charities doing similar work in the region.’
Harry has issued a formal complaint about Chandauka: The MoS has learned that Harry has now upped the ante by issuing a formal complaint about Dr Chandauka’s conduct, accusing her of ‘recycling’ unfounded claims. A letter to the commission from his office notes that since the investigation, Dr Chandauka had revisited ‘serious, highly-charged and damaging allegations’. It said the claims ‘directly impact’ his other charity work, adding: ‘Ms Chandauka continues to publicly recycle these claims, this time beneath the guise of clarification, all while leveraging the charity’s public platform to do so. This conduct appears to directly contravene your warning about the risks of airing internal disputes in the media and seems to constitute an ongoing misuse of charitable resources for the pursuit of personal vindication.’
Chandauka’s background: This newspaper can now reveal startling new details of the background to Dr Chandauka’s 2023 appointment. In an email to fellow board members, she requested $3,000 (£2,200) a day for her time, claiming this represented ‘a very significant compromise/pay cut’ as she typically charged £2,500 for 60-minute speaking engagements. A source said it raised eyebrows among trustees and was in ‘stark contrast to the selfless, pro bono spirit in which most serve’. In the event, the Zimbabwean-born lawyer eventually agreed to work pro bono.
She pushed her way into the chairmanship: Other emails show she was originally turned down for the role of chairman, but launched ‘an all-out pressure campaign’ for a formal explanation for her rejection. She eventually got the job, with Harry at the time hailing her appointment.
This is a minor quibble in the grand scheme of things, but Harry didn’t resign from Sentebale last week – he resigned from his position as patron back in March, because of Chandauka’s behavior and her financial impropriety. He resigned alongside Seeiso and the board of trustees. In retrospect, it feels like Harry and the trustees were concerned about the optics throughout this whole ordeal, when really, they should have just used their power to get rid of her. They were concerned about the optics of NOT hiring a Black woman as chair, and the optics of demanding Chandauka’s resignation when she was lying her ass off about being “bullied.” They hoped to shame this evil, disgusting woman into stepping down and leaving Sentebale of her own accord. They didn’t count on the fact that she began working with Prince William’s allies to hollow out Sentebale’s funds and operations. Anyway, I hope Harry and Seeiso start another charity. I hope they’ve both learned that they need to structure the new charity differently as well.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, screencaps courtesy of Sky News.
