The chairwoman of a charity Prince Harry recently stepped down from has made serious allegations against the royal, accusing him of being involved in a “cover-up” of bullying accusations.
Last week, Prince Harry announced his resignation from Sentebale, the charity he co-founded 20 years ago in 2006.
He established Sentebale in Lesotho, a landlocked nation in Southern Africa, in memory of his late mother, Princess Diana, with the goal of supporting children and young people, particularly those affected by HIV and AIDS, alongside Prince Seeiso.
However, both Harry and Seeiso have since resigned from their roles as patrons of the charity following a dispute with the charity’s chairwoman, Dr. Sophie Chandauka, who was asked to step down.
Now, Dr. Chandauka is accusing the “toxic” Duke of Sussex of attempting to cover up bullying allegations.
In an interview with Sky News that aired on Sunday (30 March), Dr. Chandauka expressed her intention to “set the record straight.”
She accused the Duke of Sussex of attempting to cover up her complaints about bullying, harassment, and misogyny within the charity. “Prince Harry interfered in the investigation of that and the senior independent director who should have taken care of it was the very same person who then delivered the news to me that I was going to be removed by the board,” she said. “So it’s a cover-up and the prince is involved.”
Dr. Chandauka also spoke to the Financial Times, stating: “The number one risk for this organisation was the toxicity of its lead patron’s brand. When you start to interview people, they’re asking questions about, well, these mixed messages around the patron.”
She stated that tensions within the charity began because the way it was being managed “was no longer appropriate… in a post-Black Lives Matter world,” mentioning that the push for “locally led initiatives” caused friction with staff based in the UK.
In a statement released last week by both Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso, they explained: “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.”
Dr. Chandauka also issued her own statement, saying 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.”
“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 also claimed that she had reported trustees to the Charity Commission and that the High Court had granted an emergency injunction to prevent her removal.
She further added, “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 [misogyny directed against Black women] – and the cover-up that ensued.”
A source close to the former trustees of the Sentebale charity told Sky News that Dr. Chandauka’s allegations of being bullied and harassed are “completely baseless.”
The source went on to say that the ex-trustees “fully expected this publicity stunt and reached their collective decision with this in mind. They remain firm in their resignation, for the good of the charity, and look forward to the adjudication of the truth.”
A spokesperson for the Charity Commission had earlier informed Sky News that it is “aware of concerns about the governance of Sentebale.”
They added, “We are assessing the issues to determine the appropriate regulatory steps.”