Opinion / Columnist
Prince Zwide reacts to Bulelani coronation
17 Nov 2017 at 08:50hrs | Views
The Ndebele culture and important cultural institutions continue to be destroyed since the time of the advent of settler colonialists of the 1800s.It is not possible to have coronation of a Ndebele King in the name of Bulelani Colin Lobengula Khumalo on the 3rd March, 2018 as announced through the independent papers and social media by Chief Mathema. Umthwakazi are too astute to be fooled. The people need to realize that the fact that any Chief makes an announcement does not necessarily equate the acts to legitimacy. It is sad and unfortunate to realize that a Chief who abuses his respected position to peddle falsehood and not care about the damage it is doing to the Monarch system the Ndebele people are so desperate for to attain closure in their attaining full identity.
The reasons why the Bulelani coronation remains imaginary are many. Bulelani Colin Khumalo, whilst a descendant of the King Lobengula family, was not identified by King Lobengula's family. The King Lobengula family, as the last house to rule, was given a mandate to identify the heir from among them on the 6 November, 1997 which was confirmed on the 31ST December, 2014 by the Khumalo Clan. Whilst the House was going through the process, since January 2015, some members of the Khumalo clan who are not descendants of King Lobengula clandestinely went to South Africa and suddenly pitched up with Bulelani Colin Khumalo as the Crown Prince. Ayanda Khumalo, Chief Hlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni and now Chief Mathema have been making the announcements of him as the Crown Prince. All this, they have been doing without consulting with King Lobengula's house.
The five Khumalo Clan Houses have different roles and only King Lobengula's house is mandated to identify the heir to the Ndebele throne. The King Lobengula Royal Trust requires that the heir be handed over to the Chiefs by the King Lobengula family and not just any Khumalo. The Chiefs can only inform the public after this order of events. Any of the descendants of King Lobengula cannot be a King without going through the process followed by the family and those aspects guided by the King Lobengula Royal Trust. Mathema's announcement is a bubble in that the Lobengula House was not consulted and the procedure followed is not in tandem with the guidelines of the Trust. The use of the Trust guidelines is a safety net against personal interests overriding Ndebele national desires.
Mathema has gone on to inform Chief Charumbira of the Chiefs Council before the owners of the Institution are properly informed and ignoring the representation in that Council from Matabeleland and many other Chiefs in Matabeleland. Chief Charumbira also sounded surprised when on the 27 October, 2017 he quibbled, ''oh, I thought the letter sent to me yesterday came from King Lobengula's House''. This institution belongs to the Ndebele people. It just smacks something fishy when announcements are rushed to the Chiefs Council and politicians by Chief Mathema when the name he has given to them is in dispute.
It is a false that all Chiefs are in agreement with what he has done because some Chiefs have phoned King Lobengula's House sounding very surprised how such an announcement can be made through social media and newspapers when they have also not been informed or consulted. The Monarch is a very important institution among the Ndebele peoples. It is absurd that the issues of this institution should be handled so clumsily by Chief Mathema that hails from a respectable chieftaincy that include historical cultural leaders and legends like Dliso Mathema and Sigombe Mathema. These Chiefs were orderly and not excitable by being awarded positions and they left leadership legacies that the Ndebele nation will continue to cherish. The King Lobengula House has no intention to embarrass Chief Mathema, but it is its humble observation that he should avoid meddling up in the internal political dynamics of the Khumalo family in their attempt to come up with a legitimate and respectable procedure for this oppressed nation. As a Chief, he would have played a better role as an arbitrator in any disputes that the family found themselves in than to take sides without even examining carefully what mud he is being led into.
The Chief has no idea how inaccurate he is when he states that the choice of Bulelani Colin Khumalo was arrived at in a way consistent with our cultural values, customs, traditions, practices and historical precedents. If he had asked, he would have known that Rhodes House was at least represented twice by Bulelani Colin Khumalo, out of the many meetings that King Lobengula's House held, deliberating on the issues before somebody intending to divide the House snatched him. At one of these minuted meetings, all the Houses of Lobengula, including the Njube House, confirmed their family trees. Bulelani's mother's surname, whilst of pure Nguni origin, as confirmed by him, could never be acceptable in the Ndebele culture and norms as a parent that could produce a Khumalo Crown Prince for the Ndebeles.
Umthwakazi needs to note that the bloodline of the mother is the highest in the scale of determining a Crown Prince in the Nguni culture. It can only be over-ridden by the incumbent King's choice should there be reasons such as poor health, or skewed moral continuum around the prospective heir born of a mother with a royal bloodline. It is also unheard of that the Khumalo elders can go and consult spirit mediums to identify the heir among King Lobengula's descendants without the descendants being represented in that process. In the Ndebele culture doing that is more of witchcraft than a proper cultural procedure. They made Bulelani 'win' a one man race. Surely something is wrong in this whole Chief Mathema announcement. The bad part is that it is trivializing the all-important Ndebele institution and a Chief accepts to do that and goes public about it.
King Lobengula Royal Trust continues to advise that 'akusikugijima okuyikufika'. The House is aware of the very strong desire to have a Monarch. There are many enemies to the process of restoring the Ndebele Monarch. As a house that announced the assumption of its cultural leadership role on the 28 July, 2017 the initial focus is the Ndebele nation's unity. The establishment of the King Lobengula Royal Trust has been done to unite the people and protect the people's institution as it is already doing. It will continue to protect and defend the institutional interests of the Ndebele people. It awaits launching it very soon. It is worthwhile to confirm that a number of Chiefs attached their signatures, and some used their stamps in approving its establishment and registration. These are available for inspection if requested. Secondly, the focus is on identity of this nation. King Lobengula's House has considered this as second most important element. In other nations people of the same ethnic group can identify each other even before they speak to each other when they meet. That is critical and very necessary against a situation in which a foreigner introduces people of the same nationality to each other.
The long awaited surprise gift from King Lobengula Royal Trust and family of a properly identified and legitimate Crown Prince that carries the dignity of the revered Ndebele Monarch institution. This Crown Prince has 100% local content in birth and understanding the needs of the Ndebele and other local people that cherish the institution. Unlike the case announced by Chief Mathema, in which information is trickling out that, in fact, attempts are to be made to get him local documents through clandestine means. It needs to be noted that Bulelani Colin Khumalo has no father in this country, is fifth generation from King Lobengula, and any forgery of documents on his behalf would be illegal.
The above point is one reason why there has been hitches in him attending the meeting of the 19 August, 2017 in which his name was mentioned in his absence; secondly him not appearing at Mhlahlandlela on the 9 September, 2017 to meet the people during the King Mzilikazi commemoration. It is possible that on the 3rd March, 2018 one Khumalo, we understand from some Bulelani's issue handlers, Ayanda Khumalo has been suggested as likely to stand for him. Ah, what a scandalous joke! This is one reason that created challenges to fixing the date because some of the advocates for Bulelani to be King do not agree with a regent or 'ibambela'. Indeed this is as improper as imposing Bulelani Colin Khumalo on the Ndebele nation using false history that Njube was heir to King Lobengula's throne when King Lobengula out of his sons he identified Nyamande as his successor. Nyamande was coroneted at Entumbane on the 25 June, 1896. The new and legitimate King for the Ndebele nation will, thus, come from King Nyamande's House as agreed to by King Lobengula's House.
King Lobengula's House still welcomes Bulelani Colin Khumalo to its fold in dealing with all the issues relating to the Royal family and its mandates. The House is aware of the fact that some of the Khumalos that have brought him forward have spent time in United Kingdom working with the late Mr Mthunzi trying to access King Lobengula's imagined royalties that the British Government owes us. They hit a snag when they could not be identifiable in the King Lobengula's lineage. Bulelani Colin Lobengula Khumalo, that is both innocent and ignorant about why the Ndebeles need a King, and is to be their King, has the right name to put forward to the House of Lords on their next attempt to have access to the royalties. The King Lobengula Royal Trust is not sure if this is the motivation spurned on Chief Mathema to find himself so excited as to fail to do sufficient due diligence on the matter and the process of identifying the heir to King Lobengula's throne. As an educated man he probably needs to research in the history archives as all the information is there that tells us how White colonialists destroyed our Monarch by sidelining other children, conscripting them in isolation camps like King Nyamande and promising first Nguboyenja and then Njube kingship which they never or could never fulfill. Whilst there is current debate about Nyamande and Njube, the pertinent fact is that these sons of King Lobengula were divided by imperialists and both physically and emotionally oppressed by the same. It is unfortunate that what Chief Mathema and other handlers of the Bulelani issue are doing to our grandson is a replica of what the racist White colonial regime did to his forefathers Njube and Nguboyenja, this time just for personal gain of the selfish handlers.
Having responded in detail to Chief Mathema's unfortunate announcement that is conspicuous for his intended grand standing, which is the only success in that action, as chairman of the so-called crown council, King Lobengula Royal Trust sees opportunities for the mend on all damaged fronts in our endeavor to restore the Ndebele Monarch. Stanley has to stop masquerading as a King and join politics full-time. He just doesn't seem to see where his talent lies. It can only be done by somebody completely ignorant of cultural issues when he calls for Inxwala the third time in a year. Bulelani must be let free, to rejoin the King Lobengula family, by these people that seem to be motivated by self enrichment and are destroying an institution of pride among the Ndebele people. King Lobengula's family should prepare a good 2018 new year's present. Unity among ourselves will foster positive nationhood. Chiefs need to afford the people space so that they, the chiefs, enjoy their roles as custodians of culture. They should jealously protect the respect afforded them by their positions among the people they lead and unlike Chief Mathema, desist from meddling in other people's or family affairs.
For Umthwakazi as a whole, we should pray that this current political situation eventually settles down. Our hope should be that the good statement that came out that traditional leadership focus on custodianship of culture, norms, customs and heritage carries the future. In the light of that, it is prudent for Umthwakazi to remain calm, peaceful, progressive and forward looking. If a new dispensation comes about, it should be our prayer that our endeavours to restore cultural institutions like the re-enactment of our legitimate King Lobengula Monarch system gets full government support. We assure government that the Ndebele Monarch will be ceremonial and non-partisan. We will therefore work well for the benefit of Umthwakazi nation with the Government.
Issues of cessation are not in our program as this will be cultural. The boundary of our Kingdom will not be geographic. If there is a person in Chiredzi who owes allegiance to the Ndebele Monarch, the Kingdom boundary will extend to as far as the location of the allegiance. The Kingdom will thus be part of the cultural institution whose geographic space is not measurable, but huge. The King Lobengula family would like everyone to be part of the Kingdom in time and once one owes allegiance to the Monarch no matter ones ethnic identity. The restoration of cultural institutions ethnic group by ethnic group is encouraged to enhance ethnic identity in Zimbabwe.
zwide54@gmail.com
The reasons why the Bulelani coronation remains imaginary are many. Bulelani Colin Khumalo, whilst a descendant of the King Lobengula family, was not identified by King Lobengula's family. The King Lobengula family, as the last house to rule, was given a mandate to identify the heir from among them on the 6 November, 1997 which was confirmed on the 31ST December, 2014 by the Khumalo Clan. Whilst the House was going through the process, since January 2015, some members of the Khumalo clan who are not descendants of King Lobengula clandestinely went to South Africa and suddenly pitched up with Bulelani Colin Khumalo as the Crown Prince. Ayanda Khumalo, Chief Hlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni and now Chief Mathema have been making the announcements of him as the Crown Prince. All this, they have been doing without consulting with King Lobengula's house.
The five Khumalo Clan Houses have different roles and only King Lobengula's house is mandated to identify the heir to the Ndebele throne. The King Lobengula Royal Trust requires that the heir be handed over to the Chiefs by the King Lobengula family and not just any Khumalo. The Chiefs can only inform the public after this order of events. Any of the descendants of King Lobengula cannot be a King without going through the process followed by the family and those aspects guided by the King Lobengula Royal Trust. Mathema's announcement is a bubble in that the Lobengula House was not consulted and the procedure followed is not in tandem with the guidelines of the Trust. The use of the Trust guidelines is a safety net against personal interests overriding Ndebele national desires.
Mathema has gone on to inform Chief Charumbira of the Chiefs Council before the owners of the Institution are properly informed and ignoring the representation in that Council from Matabeleland and many other Chiefs in Matabeleland. Chief Charumbira also sounded surprised when on the 27 October, 2017 he quibbled, ''oh, I thought the letter sent to me yesterday came from King Lobengula's House''. This institution belongs to the Ndebele people. It just smacks something fishy when announcements are rushed to the Chiefs Council and politicians by Chief Mathema when the name he has given to them is in dispute.
It is a false that all Chiefs are in agreement with what he has done because some Chiefs have phoned King Lobengula's House sounding very surprised how such an announcement can be made through social media and newspapers when they have also not been informed or consulted. The Monarch is a very important institution among the Ndebele peoples. It is absurd that the issues of this institution should be handled so clumsily by Chief Mathema that hails from a respectable chieftaincy that include historical cultural leaders and legends like Dliso Mathema and Sigombe Mathema. These Chiefs were orderly and not excitable by being awarded positions and they left leadership legacies that the Ndebele nation will continue to cherish. The King Lobengula House has no intention to embarrass Chief Mathema, but it is its humble observation that he should avoid meddling up in the internal political dynamics of the Khumalo family in their attempt to come up with a legitimate and respectable procedure for this oppressed nation. As a Chief, he would have played a better role as an arbitrator in any disputes that the family found themselves in than to take sides without even examining carefully what mud he is being led into.
The Chief has no idea how inaccurate he is when he states that the choice of Bulelani Colin Khumalo was arrived at in a way consistent with our cultural values, customs, traditions, practices and historical precedents. If he had asked, he would have known that Rhodes House was at least represented twice by Bulelani Colin Khumalo, out of the many meetings that King Lobengula's House held, deliberating on the issues before somebody intending to divide the House snatched him. At one of these minuted meetings, all the Houses of Lobengula, including the Njube House, confirmed their family trees. Bulelani's mother's surname, whilst of pure Nguni origin, as confirmed by him, could never be acceptable in the Ndebele culture and norms as a parent that could produce a Khumalo Crown Prince for the Ndebeles.
Umthwakazi needs to note that the bloodline of the mother is the highest in the scale of determining a Crown Prince in the Nguni culture. It can only be over-ridden by the incumbent King's choice should there be reasons such as poor health, or skewed moral continuum around the prospective heir born of a mother with a royal bloodline. It is also unheard of that the Khumalo elders can go and consult spirit mediums to identify the heir among King Lobengula's descendants without the descendants being represented in that process. In the Ndebele culture doing that is more of witchcraft than a proper cultural procedure. They made Bulelani 'win' a one man race. Surely something is wrong in this whole Chief Mathema announcement. The bad part is that it is trivializing the all-important Ndebele institution and a Chief accepts to do that and goes public about it.
The long awaited surprise gift from King Lobengula Royal Trust and family of a properly identified and legitimate Crown Prince that carries the dignity of the revered Ndebele Monarch institution. This Crown Prince has 100% local content in birth and understanding the needs of the Ndebele and other local people that cherish the institution. Unlike the case announced by Chief Mathema, in which information is trickling out that, in fact, attempts are to be made to get him local documents through clandestine means. It needs to be noted that Bulelani Colin Khumalo has no father in this country, is fifth generation from King Lobengula, and any forgery of documents on his behalf would be illegal.
The above point is one reason why there has been hitches in him attending the meeting of the 19 August, 2017 in which his name was mentioned in his absence; secondly him not appearing at Mhlahlandlela on the 9 September, 2017 to meet the people during the King Mzilikazi commemoration. It is possible that on the 3rd March, 2018 one Khumalo, we understand from some Bulelani's issue handlers, Ayanda Khumalo has been suggested as likely to stand for him. Ah, what a scandalous joke! This is one reason that created challenges to fixing the date because some of the advocates for Bulelani to be King do not agree with a regent or 'ibambela'. Indeed this is as improper as imposing Bulelani Colin Khumalo on the Ndebele nation using false history that Njube was heir to King Lobengula's throne when King Lobengula out of his sons he identified Nyamande as his successor. Nyamande was coroneted at Entumbane on the 25 June, 1896. The new and legitimate King for the Ndebele nation will, thus, come from King Nyamande's House as agreed to by King Lobengula's House.
King Lobengula's House still welcomes Bulelani Colin Khumalo to its fold in dealing with all the issues relating to the Royal family and its mandates. The House is aware of the fact that some of the Khumalos that have brought him forward have spent time in United Kingdom working with the late Mr Mthunzi trying to access King Lobengula's imagined royalties that the British Government owes us. They hit a snag when they could not be identifiable in the King Lobengula's lineage. Bulelani Colin Lobengula Khumalo, that is both innocent and ignorant about why the Ndebeles need a King, and is to be their King, has the right name to put forward to the House of Lords on their next attempt to have access to the royalties. The King Lobengula Royal Trust is not sure if this is the motivation spurned on Chief Mathema to find himself so excited as to fail to do sufficient due diligence on the matter and the process of identifying the heir to King Lobengula's throne. As an educated man he probably needs to research in the history archives as all the information is there that tells us how White colonialists destroyed our Monarch by sidelining other children, conscripting them in isolation camps like King Nyamande and promising first Nguboyenja and then Njube kingship which they never or could never fulfill. Whilst there is current debate about Nyamande and Njube, the pertinent fact is that these sons of King Lobengula were divided by imperialists and both physically and emotionally oppressed by the same. It is unfortunate that what Chief Mathema and other handlers of the Bulelani issue are doing to our grandson is a replica of what the racist White colonial regime did to his forefathers Njube and Nguboyenja, this time just for personal gain of the selfish handlers.
Having responded in detail to Chief Mathema's unfortunate announcement that is conspicuous for his intended grand standing, which is the only success in that action, as chairman of the so-called crown council, King Lobengula Royal Trust sees opportunities for the mend on all damaged fronts in our endeavor to restore the Ndebele Monarch. Stanley has to stop masquerading as a King and join politics full-time. He just doesn't seem to see where his talent lies. It can only be done by somebody completely ignorant of cultural issues when he calls for Inxwala the third time in a year. Bulelani must be let free, to rejoin the King Lobengula family, by these people that seem to be motivated by self enrichment and are destroying an institution of pride among the Ndebele people. King Lobengula's family should prepare a good 2018 new year's present. Unity among ourselves will foster positive nationhood. Chiefs need to afford the people space so that they, the chiefs, enjoy their roles as custodians of culture. They should jealously protect the respect afforded them by their positions among the people they lead and unlike Chief Mathema, desist from meddling in other people's or family affairs.
For Umthwakazi as a whole, we should pray that this current political situation eventually settles down. Our hope should be that the good statement that came out that traditional leadership focus on custodianship of culture, norms, customs and heritage carries the future. In the light of that, it is prudent for Umthwakazi to remain calm, peaceful, progressive and forward looking. If a new dispensation comes about, it should be our prayer that our endeavours to restore cultural institutions like the re-enactment of our legitimate King Lobengula Monarch system gets full government support. We assure government that the Ndebele Monarch will be ceremonial and non-partisan. We will therefore work well for the benefit of Umthwakazi nation with the Government.
Issues of cessation are not in our program as this will be cultural. The boundary of our Kingdom will not be geographic. If there is a person in Chiredzi who owes allegiance to the Ndebele Monarch, the Kingdom boundary will extend to as far as the location of the allegiance. The Kingdom will thus be part of the cultural institution whose geographic space is not measurable, but huge. The King Lobengula family would like everyone to be part of the Kingdom in time and once one owes allegiance to the Monarch no matter ones ethnic identity. The restoration of cultural institutions ethnic group by ethnic group is encouraged to enhance ethnic identity in Zimbabwe.
zwide54@gmail.com
Source - Prince Zwide Khumalo
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