News / Regional
Ndiweni chieftaincy wrangle takes new twist
20 Jul 2014 at 10:04hrs | Views
THE wrangle over the Ndiweni chieftaincy, which was left vacant following the death of Chief Khayisa Ndiweni in 2010, has taken a new twist with cultural commentators and historians stating that no chief has the power or jurisdiction to handpick his successor who can only be selected according to relevant customs.
Last week the late Chief Khayisa Ndiweni's widow, Agnes, crossed swords with her first and second born sons, Jorum and Douglas by convincing Government to install her last born son, Nhlanhla, claiming that only herself, her daughter Lydia Mthethwa and a relative, Mr Wilson Bancinyane Ndiweni, were mandated by Chief Ndiweni to handle his succession.
However, in an interesting turn of events, cultural commentators and historians have argued that the late chief, whose chieftaincy they said was never paramount, could not select his heir alone.
Historian Mr Pathisa Nyathi, said being a chief was never through an elective process but it was hereditary.
"For a start there is no such thing as a paramount chief for Matabeleland, all is a myth and creation of a people who are not au feit with the traditional institution; what we have are chiefs all of equal standing. During the heydays of the Ndebele state, there was indunankulu, chief of chiefs and under King Mzilikazi it was Gwabalanda Mathe who was in charge of Amhlophe, in Lobengula's time the post was filled by Magwegwe Fuyana.
"Further, we should know and recognise the simple fact that chieftainship is a hereditary institution and succession therein is never through election, no chief ascends the chieftainship seat through an elective process," said Mr Nyathi.
He said it was wrong and not allowed for a chief to select his successor, saying this was done to ensure that there was no favouritism at play in the process.
"With regard to the Ndiweni chieftainship and any other traditional chieftainship the incumbent chief does not select his or her successor as they themselves were never selected. There are known rules for succession and the wishes of an incumbent upon his or her demise do not apply, this eliminates favouritism.
"What ought to happen is that the Ndiweni family as a collegium sits down and scrutinises the situation with a view to identifying the qualifying candidate; they will inevitably be bound by customary considerations with regards to chiefly succession. The wider community, in this case the Ntabazinduna community simply says to the Ndiweni family: "give us the candidate". They are not involved in the nomination process, the qualifying candidate is presented to them," said the historian.
Deputy president of the chief's council, Chief Mtshana Khumalo also noted that according to custom there were known procedures to appoint a successor to chief and it had never happened for a chief to handpick his own successor.
"It is very unusual for a chief to handpick his own successor as this is a reservation to our customs. Yes, it might happen that the chief can choose noting that the heir apparent does not fit the bill to be a chief.
"I must, however, emphasise that this is mainly a process set aside by our customs and in a case where there is a dispute the family can then consult other institutions like the Government or even the community leaders to resolve the impasse," said Chief Mtshana.
He also disputed the notion that the Khayisa chieftainship was considered as paramount, saying probably the only reason for this consideration was the fact that Chief Khayisa was now the oldest and longest serving chief in the country.
Mr Isaac Mpofu, a historian, said the issue of chieftaincy was a matter which most families were aware of, in terms of who takes over when a chief dies. He said the only time it became tricky was when a chief was in a polygamous marriage.
"It is known in the family how a chief is endorsed, they look at the oldest son of that chief and when the time comes for that chief to be appointed they meet as elders where they then agree on the candidate before informing the rest of the community.
"In a case where the late chief chooses his successor this has to be in agreement of the whole family and his advisors but this can be overturned by the family if they feel there is some form of favouritism taking place," said Mr Mpofu.
Prince Peter ZwidekaLanga Khumalo, a descendant of King Lobengula, also noted that with the current situation, where there was no substantive king it was impossible to have any paramount chief of Matabeleland and further there were no statutory provisions to have one.
"A paramount chief can only be there if there is a king, back in the days of King Mzilikazi and Lobengula, this was what was referred to as indunankulu. In present day, we can say it is the equivalent of a Prime Minister.
"Where there is no king, all chiefs become equal as they all have the same responsibilities maybe the only difference might be age but still they remain equal, so I can safely say that at the present moment we have nothing such as a paramount chief," said Prince Khumalo.
On succession, he, however, dispelled the notion that being a chief was hereditary but said according to traditional practice, a chief had to indicate and groom his heir before passing on.
He said the heir to property and family name did not necessarily have to be the heir to a chieftaincy, noting that the current jostling for a number of chieftainships was caused by the fact that chiefs now neglected this function of identifying a chief.
"Normally before a chief dies he indicates who will take over being a chief, to close family members and at times his advisors, this is done so that the person can be trained, normally at another chief's homestead.
"This process must be differentiated from inheritance where the oldest son inherits the family name because in some cases the person who is the heir might not have the charisma or of no moral standing to lead that particular community," Prince Khumalo said.
He said during the process itself, the late chief's brothers, the widow, close advisors and in some instances the aunts were consulted but essentially this was a male dominated process and in most cases it was the word of the late chief that carried the day.
"Normally the boys were not consulted because they are considered as competitors, the girl children on the other hand would have been married to other families hence they cannot have a say on what is happening in the family. So the brothers, wife and close advisors were the ones who the chief was expected to have confided in.
"This is a process that is even happening in South Africa. In 1998 when we went to get guidance with regards to the construction of Old Bulawayo village, I was tasked to consult King Zwelithini to find out how this succession matter was handled and that is exactly how he deduced it," Prince Khumalo said.
Matabeleland Provincial Administrator, Ms Latiso Dlamini, said Government only requests a name from the deceased chief's family.
"We only work with the name that we are given by the family. As for the Ndiweni chieftaincy, we got a name from the family and we have forwarded it to the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing," she said.
Chief Ndiweni, who died in his sleep in August 2010 at the age of 97, is survived by nine daughters and three sons, Jorum Thambo, Douglas and Nhlanhla Felix Ndiweni. All three sons are said to be based outside the country.
Chief Ndiweni once served as the country's Acting President for 13 days when then ceremonial president Canaan Banana was out of the country in 1981. The chief was a direct descendant of Gundwane Ndiweni, the first Ndebele paramount chief who led a Nguni group separate to that of King Mzilikazi into Zimbabwe in 1838.
In an affidavit, Chief Khayisa's wife, Agnes, alleges that Jorum "will never make a chief that the people of Ntabazinduna deserve" because of "various other deeper stuff that make him not to be the chief".
She says her other son Douglas "cannot be trusted, he is dishonest (and) a rabble-rouser".
She also dismissed the Nhlambabaloyi clan, a grouping of Ntabazinduna elders who have since forwarded Jorum's name to the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing as "commoners".
Last week the late Chief Khayisa Ndiweni's widow, Agnes, crossed swords with her first and second born sons, Jorum and Douglas by convincing Government to install her last born son, Nhlanhla, claiming that only herself, her daughter Lydia Mthethwa and a relative, Mr Wilson Bancinyane Ndiweni, were mandated by Chief Ndiweni to handle his succession.
However, in an interesting turn of events, cultural commentators and historians have argued that the late chief, whose chieftaincy they said was never paramount, could not select his heir alone.
Historian Mr Pathisa Nyathi, said being a chief was never through an elective process but it was hereditary.
"For a start there is no such thing as a paramount chief for Matabeleland, all is a myth and creation of a people who are not au feit with the traditional institution; what we have are chiefs all of equal standing. During the heydays of the Ndebele state, there was indunankulu, chief of chiefs and under King Mzilikazi it was Gwabalanda Mathe who was in charge of Amhlophe, in Lobengula's time the post was filled by Magwegwe Fuyana.
"Further, we should know and recognise the simple fact that chieftainship is a hereditary institution and succession therein is never through election, no chief ascends the chieftainship seat through an elective process," said Mr Nyathi.
He said it was wrong and not allowed for a chief to select his successor, saying this was done to ensure that there was no favouritism at play in the process.
"With regard to the Ndiweni chieftainship and any other traditional chieftainship the incumbent chief does not select his or her successor as they themselves were never selected. There are known rules for succession and the wishes of an incumbent upon his or her demise do not apply, this eliminates favouritism.
"What ought to happen is that the Ndiweni family as a collegium sits down and scrutinises the situation with a view to identifying the qualifying candidate; they will inevitably be bound by customary considerations with regards to chiefly succession. The wider community, in this case the Ntabazinduna community simply says to the Ndiweni family: "give us the candidate". They are not involved in the nomination process, the qualifying candidate is presented to them," said the historian.
Deputy president of the chief's council, Chief Mtshana Khumalo also noted that according to custom there were known procedures to appoint a successor to chief and it had never happened for a chief to handpick his own successor.
"It is very unusual for a chief to handpick his own successor as this is a reservation to our customs. Yes, it might happen that the chief can choose noting that the heir apparent does not fit the bill to be a chief.
"I must, however, emphasise that this is mainly a process set aside by our customs and in a case where there is a dispute the family can then consult other institutions like the Government or even the community leaders to resolve the impasse," said Chief Mtshana.
He also disputed the notion that the Khayisa chieftainship was considered as paramount, saying probably the only reason for this consideration was the fact that Chief Khayisa was now the oldest and longest serving chief in the country.
Mr Isaac Mpofu, a historian, said the issue of chieftaincy was a matter which most families were aware of, in terms of who takes over when a chief dies. He said the only time it became tricky was when a chief was in a polygamous marriage.
"It is known in the family how a chief is endorsed, they look at the oldest son of that chief and when the time comes for that chief to be appointed they meet as elders where they then agree on the candidate before informing the rest of the community.
"In a case where the late chief chooses his successor this has to be in agreement of the whole family and his advisors but this can be overturned by the family if they feel there is some form of favouritism taking place," said Mr Mpofu.
Prince Peter ZwidekaLanga Khumalo, a descendant of King Lobengula, also noted that with the current situation, where there was no substantive king it was impossible to have any paramount chief of Matabeleland and further there were no statutory provisions to have one.
"A paramount chief can only be there if there is a king, back in the days of King Mzilikazi and Lobengula, this was what was referred to as indunankulu. In present day, we can say it is the equivalent of a Prime Minister.
"Where there is no king, all chiefs become equal as they all have the same responsibilities maybe the only difference might be age but still they remain equal, so I can safely say that at the present moment we have nothing such as a paramount chief," said Prince Khumalo.
On succession, he, however, dispelled the notion that being a chief was hereditary but said according to traditional practice, a chief had to indicate and groom his heir before passing on.
He said the heir to property and family name did not necessarily have to be the heir to a chieftaincy, noting that the current jostling for a number of chieftainships was caused by the fact that chiefs now neglected this function of identifying a chief.
"Normally before a chief dies he indicates who will take over being a chief, to close family members and at times his advisors, this is done so that the person can be trained, normally at another chief's homestead.
"This process must be differentiated from inheritance where the oldest son inherits the family name because in some cases the person who is the heir might not have the charisma or of no moral standing to lead that particular community," Prince Khumalo said.
He said during the process itself, the late chief's brothers, the widow, close advisors and in some instances the aunts were consulted but essentially this was a male dominated process and in most cases it was the word of the late chief that carried the day.
"Normally the boys were not consulted because they are considered as competitors, the girl children on the other hand would have been married to other families hence they cannot have a say on what is happening in the family. So the brothers, wife and close advisors were the ones who the chief was expected to have confided in.
"This is a process that is even happening in South Africa. In 1998 when we went to get guidance with regards to the construction of Old Bulawayo village, I was tasked to consult King Zwelithini to find out how this succession matter was handled and that is exactly how he deduced it," Prince Khumalo said.
Matabeleland Provincial Administrator, Ms Latiso Dlamini, said Government only requests a name from the deceased chief's family.
"We only work with the name that we are given by the family. As for the Ndiweni chieftaincy, we got a name from the family and we have forwarded it to the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing," she said.
Chief Ndiweni, who died in his sleep in August 2010 at the age of 97, is survived by nine daughters and three sons, Jorum Thambo, Douglas and Nhlanhla Felix Ndiweni. All three sons are said to be based outside the country.
Chief Ndiweni once served as the country's Acting President for 13 days when then ceremonial president Canaan Banana was out of the country in 1981. The chief was a direct descendant of Gundwane Ndiweni, the first Ndebele paramount chief who led a Nguni group separate to that of King Mzilikazi into Zimbabwe in 1838.
In an affidavit, Chief Khayisa's wife, Agnes, alleges that Jorum "will never make a chief that the people of Ntabazinduna deserve" because of "various other deeper stuff that make him not to be the chief".
She says her other son Douglas "cannot be trusted, he is dishonest (and) a rabble-rouser".
She also dismissed the Nhlambabaloyi clan, a grouping of Ntabazinduna elders who have since forwarded Jorum's name to the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing as "commoners".
Source - Sunday News
