The chairperson of an African charity co-founded by Prince Harry accused the royal of “harassment and bullying at scale” to try to force her out, after Harry abruptly announced his resignation last week. Sophie Chandauka is the chair of Sentebale, a charity that Harry co-founded in 2006 that was long aimed at helping children in southern Africa who have HIV/AIDS.
The Duke of Sussex resigned Tuesday as a patron of Sentebale, which he helped establish in honor of his late mother, Princess Diana, citing a breakdown in the relationships between board members and Chandauka. Harry and co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho said in a joint statement that they quit “with heavy hearts” as patrons in solidarity with five trustees who resigned over an internal dispute with Chandauka, who refused to step down when asked. The stalemate reportedly involved a change in the organization’s mission. The princes said in their statement at the time: “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.”
However in an interview with Sky News that aired on Sunday, Chandauka cited Harry’s resignation statement as an “unleashing of the Sussex machine” against her and the organization’s employees. Chandauka described how the prince’s Netflix deal interfered with a scheduled fundraiser and how an incident with his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, became a source of friction. She alleged there was misconduct at the charity, and said she had tried to blow the whistle on “abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny and misogynoir.”
Chandauka also 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. And can you imagine what that attack has done for me, on me, and the 540 individuals in the Sentebale organizations and their family? That is an example of bullying and harassment at scale.”
Responding to Chandauka’s allegations, former Sentebale trustee Kelello Lerotholi said he was unaware of the issues she raised during his time on the board, telling Sky News: “The general tone and conduct of the board has been one of respect for each other, accommodating each other’s opinions and inputs, and speaking with respect to each other. So this all came as a shock to me when I heard.”
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