Prince Harry forthnight announced he would step down from his own charity following ‘unthinkable’ controversy from within – and now its chair has sensationally hit back.
Sentebale, which the Duke of Sussex co-founded with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006 to benefit African orphans, dedicates itself to tackling poverty and AIDS in Lesotho and Botswana.
The royal travelled to Africa last year to support its work and in December proudly attended an event in New York. Harry co-founded Sentebale in memory of his late mother Princess Diana.
But yesterday Harry 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’.
Sophie Chandauka, a Zimbabwe-born lawyer, was appointed to be chair of the trustees last year. It’s reported the trustees were deeply unhappy with the decision and wanted her to step down, prompting her to sue.
The row seemingly stemmed from a decision to move its fundraising operation to Africa and several key figures then walked away from the organisation.
And now, in a bombshell statement to the Mail, Dr Chandauka alleged there was a ‘cover up’ going at the charity, blasting ‘weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, and misogynoir [discrimination against black women]’.
She also took a swipe at ‘people in this world who behave as though they are above the law and mistreat people’.
Dr. Chandauka blasted that the such people ‘then play the victim card and use the very press they disdain’.
She hit out in a volley of accusations at her colleagues: ‘For me, this is not a vanity project from which I can resign when I am called to account.
‘I am an African who has had the privilege of a worldclass education and career. I will not be intimidated. I must stand for something. I stand for those other women who do not have the ways and means.’
The chair said: ‘I chose to join Sentebale first and foremost as a proud African who understands that, in the spirit of ubuntu: to whom much is given, much is expected.
‘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.
“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?
‘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.”
“I have one job. I must focus on fundraising for the very important work of the young people who inspire the incredible team at Sentebale who make sacrifices daily at a time when geopolitics is severely impacting funding for development work in Africa.
“I am indebted to those who have stood by me and picked up my urgent call for help so that we can continue the mission at Sentebale. I will continue to faithfully perform my role as Chair of the Board, and I look forward to the opportunity to work with others who are interested in issues of health, wealth and climate resilience for young people in Africa.”
Prince Harry sided with the trustees in a statement, saying they ‘acted in the best interest’ in asking Chandauka to step down.
In an earlier joint statement, which has been seen by The Times but not officially released, Harry and Prince Seeiso wrote: “What’s transpired is unthinkable. We are in shock that we have to do this.”
“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.”
The statement continued: “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.’
“We thank all the trustees for their service over the years and are truly heartbroken they’ve had to follow through with this act,” the statement added.
The former trustees Timothy Boucher, Mark Dyer, Audrey Kgosidintsi, Kelello Lerotholi and Damian West all said they made the “difficult decision to unanimously resign’ but are ‘deeply proud to have supported the visionary work of the founding patrons Prince Seeiso and Prince Harry.”
“Today’s decision is nothing short of devastating for all of us, but we see no other path forward as the result of our loss in trust and confidence in the chair of the board,'” it read.
”Our priority has always been, and will always be, what’s in the best interest of the charity, and it’s desperately sad the breakdown in relationship escalated to a lawsuit by the chair against the charity, to block us from voting her out after our request for her resignation was rejected.
‘We could not in good conscience allow Sentebale to undertake that legal and financial burden and have been left with no other option but to vacate our positions.
‘This was not a choice willingly made, but rather something we felt forced into in order to look after the charity.’
Chandauka has refused to step down, forcing the resignation of the charity’s trustees including Mark Dyer, who is a lifelong friend of Prince Harry.
A spokesman for Sentebale said that the charity had not received notice of the Prince’s resignation.
A Charity Commission spokesperson told the Mail: “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”.
It follows Richard Miller quitting as chief executive of Sentabale after five years in the role.
And his departure follows that of Baroness Chalker, the overseas development minister, who stepped down as a director the month before.
It was the latest blow for the Duke of Sussex’s organisation, which also lost advertising king Johnny Hornby. He stood down after 11 years as a trustee, five of which he spent as chairman.
The Mail on Sunday later disclosed that Andrew Tucker, whom Harry affectionately calls ‘Tucks’, had stepped down from his senior position at Sentebale after almost a decade.
A spokesman for Sentebale said it carried out a ‘restructuring’ of its board as ‘confirmation of its strategy to redeploy senior roles to be proximate to most of the team and programmes in southern Africa’.
‘We are pleased to confirm the restructuring of our Board on 25 March 2025 to introduce experts with the capabilities and networks to accelerate Sentebale’s transformation agenda as announced last year.
In April 2024, Sentebale signalled its evolution from a development organisation focused on addressing the impact of HIV/AIDS on the lives of children and young people in Lesotho and Botswana, to one that is addressing issues of youth health, wealth and climate resilience in Southern Africa.
‘Our highly successful Return to Southern Africa (RTSA) campaign with prospective international funders in October 2024 demonstrated Sentebale’s potential in these domains.
‘The RTSA was followed by the announcement of Carmel Gaillard as our Interim Executive Director based in Johannesburg in December 2024.
‘This followed Sentebale’s confirmation of its strategy to redeploy senior roles to be proximate to most of the team and programmes in Southern Africa. The recalibration of the Board is, therefore, part of Sentebale’s ambitious transformation agenda.’
The Sussexes has been approached for comment.
Dr Sophie Chandauka’s statement in full:
“I chose to join Sentebale first and foremost as a proud African who understands that, in the spirit of ubuntu: to whom much is given, much is expected. 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.
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?
“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 – and the coverup that ensued. I could be anyone.
“I just happen to be an educated woman who understands that the law will guide and protect me. I will say nothing further on this matter at this time. I have one job. I must focus on fundraising for the very important work of the young people who inspire the incredible team at Sentebale who make sacrifices daily at a time when geopolitics is severely impacting funding for development work in Africa.
“For me, this is not a vanity project from which I can resign when I am called to account. I am an African who has had the privilege of a worldclass education and career. I will not be intimidated. I must stand for something. I stand for those other women who do not have the ways and means.
“I am indebted to those who have stood by me and picked up my urgent call for help so that we can continue the mission at Sentebale. I will continue to faithfully perform my role as Chair of the Board, and I look forward to the opportunity to work with others who are interested in issues of health, wealth and climate resilience for young people in Africa.’
Discussion about this post