The chair of an African charity co-founded by Prince Harry has accused him of attempting to “drive a failure” of the organisation, deepening a public row that has thrown Sentebale into disarray.
Sophie Chandauka, chair of Sentebale since 2023, claimed the charity’s founders — Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho — “wish to drive a failure after which come to the rescue”.
The royal patrons and all 5 of the charity’s trustees resigned this week moderately than stay concerned with Chandauka as chair. The UK Charity Fee is trying into the occasions.
In her first interview because the dispute erupted, Chandauka defended her file as chair, insisted the organisation would “reside on” and stated Prince Harry’s “model” had hindered the charity.
“The primary danger for this organisation was the toxicity of its lead patron’s model,” Chandauka instructed the Monetary Occasions.
Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso based Sentebale, which means “neglect me not”, in 2006 to assist younger individuals affected by Aids in southern Africa with healthcare and schooling.
The charity’s future was thrown into doubt on Tuesday when the co-founders introduced they have been stepping away from Sentebale after the trustees tried and didn’t take away Chandauka as chair.
“The connection between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board broke down past restore, creating an untenable state of affairs,” the pair stated in a joint assertion.
“These trustees acted in one of the best curiosity of the charity in asking the chair to step down, whereas protecting the wellbeing of workers in thoughts. In flip, she sued the charity to stay on this voluntary place, additional underscoring the damaged relationship.
“We can be sharing all of our issues with the Charity Fee as to how this took place.”
Representatives for Prince Harry later strongly denied he had sought to engineer the collapse of the charity with a view to rescue it.
Chandauka, a Zimbabwe-born and London-trained lawyer, had beforehand served on the board of trustees between 2008 and 2014 earlier than her appointment to chair in 2023. She has held roles at Meta and Morgan Stanley and now leads a life sciences firm in New York.
She instructed the FT that as Sentebale’s chair she had been on a mission to remodel the charity — from overhauling the charity’s tradition, operations and long-term technique, with a deal with US fundraising.
Chandauka stated she additionally moved to widen its remit to incorporate local weather resilience and wealth inequality, whereas shifting extra decision-making to leaders in southern Africa.
“The way in which the organisation had been arrange in 2006, was not acceptable in 2023 in a post-Black Lives Matter world,” stated Chandauka. “Funders have been asking for domestically led initiatives.”
The transition had triggered friction between UK-based workers and people in Lesotho, the place a lot of the charity’s 500-plus workforce are primarily based, and Botswana, Chandauka stated.
The board felt “a lack of energy and management and affect . . . oh my goodness, the Africans are taking on”.
Chandauka added that in her time as chair she skilled “disrespect, bullying and intimidation” and “misogyny and misogynoir (misogyny directed at Black girls)”, allegations which have been vehemently denied. There is no such thing as a suggestion that Princes Harry or Seeiso have been alleged to have behaved on this means.
Kelello Lerotholi, one of many trustees who resigned this week, instructed Sky Information he didn’t recognise the allegations: “I can truthfully say, within the conferences I used to be current in, there was by no means even a touch of such.”
Baroness Lynda Chalker of Wallasey, who served as a trustee for almost 20 years till November, instructed The Occasions on Thursday Chandauka’s “virtually dictatorial” type had led to clashes.
Tensions got here to a head in February when trustees sought Chandauka’s resignation, blaming her for the charity shedding out on funding whereas concurrently rising spending on consultants, in response to individuals acquainted with the matter.
Chandauka stated she had filed a report back to the Charity Fee that month. “I view the request for my resignation as being a direct response to my elevating important issues concerning the Charity’s present governance, administration and administration,” she wrote within the criticism, seen by the FT.
On March 5, Chandauka took the dramatic step of making use of to the UK Excessive Courtroom to try to block a boardroom vote to take away her. “They thought I wouldn’t have the audacity to proceed with a court docket motion,” she stated.
The newly fashioned board of Sentebale consists of Iain Rawlinson, a financier who was beforehand chair of Prince William’s conservation charity Tusk Belief and has been advising Chandauka.
He instructed the FT there had been a concerted effort by sure trustees “to destabilise and take away Sophie” from her place.
The origins of the dispute have been extremely contested by either side. Chandauka stated she first felt rigidity between Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and herself in April 2024.
Chandauka stated she had refused what she described as a request by the royal’s workforce to defend his spouse, Meghan, within the media after detrimental protection of her. “I stated no, we’re not setting a precedent by which we turn into an extension of the Sussex PR machine,” she stated.
She argued that the risky public sentiment round Prince Harry since his transfer to the US and media fallout after the discharge of a Netflix documentary in 2022 and his ebook in 2023 had an influence on the charity’s capacity to diversify its donor pool and make senior hires.
“If you begin to interview individuals, they’re asking questions on, nicely, these combined messages across the patron,” she stated.
An individual acquainted with the trustees’ account of occasions stated: “The charity has been virtually fully reliant on the optimistic view of Prince Harry to boost funds.”
They stated the dispute had nothing to do with private tensions: “There are actual points at hand which have been raised and never addressed.
“The trustees tried to barter this privately and requested she contemplate her place attributable to their lack of belief and confidence in her as a frontrunner.”
The individual added: “The trustees have been supportive of shifting fundraising in the direction of America, the issue was she failed to try this.”
Legal professionals for Prince Harry stated there had been a breakdown in relations between the chair and key people, together with some workers, trustees and main funders.
Prince Harry has through the years supplied direct funding for the charity, together with $1.5mn from the sale of his ebook Spare, 2022 accounts present. Newest accessible figures present whole earnings in August 2023 stood at £3.4mn, down from £4.5mn a 12 months earlier.
A Charity Fee spokesperson stated: “We are able to affirm that we’re conscious of issues concerning the governance of Sentebale. We’re assessing the problems to find out the suitable regulatory steps.”
Representatives for Prince Seeiso have been contacted for remark.
Chandauka instructed the FT the general public row had been worrying for the charity’s workers. “The workforce isn’t geared up to take care of this glare.”
However she added that her message to Sentebale’s former patrons was: “The workforce is resolved that Sentebele will reside on, with or with out you.”
