Opinion / Columnist
King Lobengula: the forgotten royal
03 Jul 2014 at 16:07hrs | Views
KING Lobengula, son of Mzilikazi, must be turning in his grave and his soul restless because his own descendants and tribesmen of the Ndebele of Bulawayo are proud to have nothing to do with him, totally sidelining him each time they mount celebration events in Bulawayo.
Mandebele akwaBulawayo this has to change and only you can change it.
In the two months of June and July this city will have hosted four high profile celebration events; Bulawayo 120 years Celebrations; Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Celebrations; Amangwe Celebrations and 21st February Movement Celebrations for President Mugabe's birthday with many others coming during the course of the year. All these high profile events, despite the fact that they are being hosted in King Lobengula kaMzilikazi's city, choose not to pay any respect of any kind to the man who founded the city. This is sad and embarrassing. Zakhamizi zakwaBulawayo laloywa ngumuntu onjani?
Across Matabeleland you hear of these so-called chiefs being installed and they throw these important cultural ceremonies and sideline the person from whom they derive the cultural tradition that qualifies them to be installed as chiefs. What kind of chief is comfortable to be part of a function that ignores their own origin and identity?
All local Ndebele chiefs must remember that King Lobengula kaMzilikazi is where they originate and they should always pay him some respect at high-profile events.
King Lobengula is one of your own. This boy who was only 12 years old when he came to this country founded this city now known all over the world as Bulawayo, a city we all now proudly call a unique cosmopolitan home. Show me any other African boy who founded a city that has become part of the global village and I will remove my cap for them!
This young boy was not even in line to succeed his father the mighty King Mzilikazi son of Matshobana. He was just an ordinary Khumalo boy like the rest of them that walk this city today rising from being a fantastic shooting sports personality to take over his father's throne, not because he deserved it by birth but because he fought a battle to win it and ruled for 23 years. Show me a deserving hero more than this one!
Don't let some of these over-used illustrations where he is wearing his summer leisure skin outfits just relaxing at his home on a lazy day, fool you that he was primitive. Those skins are just in comparison to a European family wearing bikinis and boxer shorts relaxing next to the swimming pool on a hot day. You can't judge their whole lifestyle based on the illustrations from how they are dressed by the pool.
He was intelligent and sophisticated. In his youth days he was a fantastic horse rider and a sharp shooter with his rifles. His understanding and comprehension of international relations and politics developed during his youth days and by the time he was king he was already sending his foreign ministers to countries as far as Europe well before his number one enemies Cecil John the son of Rhodes and Leander Starr the son of Jameson became South African citizens.
The only gun he wanted to acquire was the Maxim gun ‘isigwagwagwa' as information coming to him was that this was the only gun in the world that his amabutho would never face and run over. He had acquired already 2,800 Martini rifles through hunting concessions and ivory trade and all that was left for him was to start a full rifle shooting training programme for an army of 2,000 Mathebele warriors. He had already started to explore the manufacturing of local bullets for the weapons. If those two white boys Cecil and Leander had delayed their Pioneer Column adventure by another twelve months the colonial history of this country would have been different!
Growing up, King Lobengula was a smart fellow who already had a good taste for western fashion designer clothes, baggy shirts, large hats, shoes, boots, suits, khaki jeans ‘imbalantshisi,' watches, specs, ties, woollen hats and so on.
For his generation this was not a backward primitive young man.
When he moved his town from old Bulawayo to present day Bulawayo eMahlabathini, he created a royal city for himself and his people.
He placed in the city 10 queens who all had several children except for Queen Lozikeyi who adopted one for a child.
Yes don't be fooled by those who tell you that adopting children is not our culture. It has always been our culture, well respected by society to a point that many children grew up never to know that the people they call parents are not their biological parents. There are many today who think Queen Lozikeyi had a child, referring to that adopted one.
The city then had the largest concentration of queens, princes and princesses than any other city in the world making it a truly royal city. These royal children also produced more royal siblings who were highly respected by the public and you can imagine how it was when they made their moves around the city. It was a royal city for sure boasting of the largest royal population and none was like it under the sun! All this was a creation of this one man King Lobengula kaMzilikazi.
This is the man the citizens of this city, those that inherited it, choose to ignore and sideline, pretending that this man did not create this city. Pretending that they are more important than him in what they do; making sure they will not celebrate him nor include him in their celebrations despite the fact that they live in a city he founded.
Other people take it away from him giving the city to some imaginary kings calling it the "city of kings" when they know it well that only this king founded this Bulawayo. They will not give him full credit for his city! What a shame.
Even the Khumalos who are related to him, choose to undermine him and his name by mobilising each other to celebrate his father King Mzilikazi out in the bush where they can't even build toilets and then returning to King Lobengula's Bulawayo where their homes are, but look down on him, despise him and sideline him never ever to celebrate the man who gave them and the world this Bulawayo.
The king's direct descendants have all gone underground and think it's stupid to celebrate the man who created Bulawayo. They want to be kings first like him before they can celebrate him. What madness! The children of all those who were chiefs in King Lobengula's government in Bulawayo have also vanished into thin air or are waiting for some President Obama and President Zuma or the fast boys from Harare to give them donations to celebrate the man who worked with their forefathers to create this great heritage that is the city of Bulawayo. It won't happen! Get up people and celebrate your own as nothing is stopping you except you.
It is clear to all that if it was not for the white colonial administrators the public memory of King Lobengula kaMzilikazi would have been wiped off our national memory by now. His own don't care about him!
All Bulawayo citizens organising high profile events in this city MUST create a space in their programme to remember the founder of this city. Show some respect people because you and those that you celebrate have never been able to create your own city! All you have done is inherit other people's cities and try to administer them including this King Lobengula's city. The boy deserves some respect from all of us who call Bulawayo home sweet home.
Mandebele akwaBulawayo this has to change and only you can change it.
In the two months of June and July this city will have hosted four high profile celebration events; Bulawayo 120 years Celebrations; Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Celebrations; Amangwe Celebrations and 21st February Movement Celebrations for President Mugabe's birthday with many others coming during the course of the year. All these high profile events, despite the fact that they are being hosted in King Lobengula kaMzilikazi's city, choose not to pay any respect of any kind to the man who founded the city. This is sad and embarrassing. Zakhamizi zakwaBulawayo laloywa ngumuntu onjani?
Across Matabeleland you hear of these so-called chiefs being installed and they throw these important cultural ceremonies and sideline the person from whom they derive the cultural tradition that qualifies them to be installed as chiefs. What kind of chief is comfortable to be part of a function that ignores their own origin and identity?
All local Ndebele chiefs must remember that King Lobengula kaMzilikazi is where they originate and they should always pay him some respect at high-profile events.
King Lobengula is one of your own. This boy who was only 12 years old when he came to this country founded this city now known all over the world as Bulawayo, a city we all now proudly call a unique cosmopolitan home. Show me any other African boy who founded a city that has become part of the global village and I will remove my cap for them!
This young boy was not even in line to succeed his father the mighty King Mzilikazi son of Matshobana. He was just an ordinary Khumalo boy like the rest of them that walk this city today rising from being a fantastic shooting sports personality to take over his father's throne, not because he deserved it by birth but because he fought a battle to win it and ruled for 23 years. Show me a deserving hero more than this one!
Don't let some of these over-used illustrations where he is wearing his summer leisure skin outfits just relaxing at his home on a lazy day, fool you that he was primitive. Those skins are just in comparison to a European family wearing bikinis and boxer shorts relaxing next to the swimming pool on a hot day. You can't judge their whole lifestyle based on the illustrations from how they are dressed by the pool.
He was intelligent and sophisticated. In his youth days he was a fantastic horse rider and a sharp shooter with his rifles. His understanding and comprehension of international relations and politics developed during his youth days and by the time he was king he was already sending his foreign ministers to countries as far as Europe well before his number one enemies Cecil John the son of Rhodes and Leander Starr the son of Jameson became South African citizens.
The only gun he wanted to acquire was the Maxim gun ‘isigwagwagwa' as information coming to him was that this was the only gun in the world that his amabutho would never face and run over. He had acquired already 2,800 Martini rifles through hunting concessions and ivory trade and all that was left for him was to start a full rifle shooting training programme for an army of 2,000 Mathebele warriors. He had already started to explore the manufacturing of local bullets for the weapons. If those two white boys Cecil and Leander had delayed their Pioneer Column adventure by another twelve months the colonial history of this country would have been different!
Growing up, King Lobengula was a smart fellow who already had a good taste for western fashion designer clothes, baggy shirts, large hats, shoes, boots, suits, khaki jeans ‘imbalantshisi,' watches, specs, ties, woollen hats and so on.
For his generation this was not a backward primitive young man.
When he moved his town from old Bulawayo to present day Bulawayo eMahlabathini, he created a royal city for himself and his people.
He placed in the city 10 queens who all had several children except for Queen Lozikeyi who adopted one for a child.
Yes don't be fooled by those who tell you that adopting children is not our culture. It has always been our culture, well respected by society to a point that many children grew up never to know that the people they call parents are not their biological parents. There are many today who think Queen Lozikeyi had a child, referring to that adopted one.
The city then had the largest concentration of queens, princes and princesses than any other city in the world making it a truly royal city. These royal children also produced more royal siblings who were highly respected by the public and you can imagine how it was when they made their moves around the city. It was a royal city for sure boasting of the largest royal population and none was like it under the sun! All this was a creation of this one man King Lobengula kaMzilikazi.
This is the man the citizens of this city, those that inherited it, choose to ignore and sideline, pretending that this man did not create this city. Pretending that they are more important than him in what they do; making sure they will not celebrate him nor include him in their celebrations despite the fact that they live in a city he founded.
Other people take it away from him giving the city to some imaginary kings calling it the "city of kings" when they know it well that only this king founded this Bulawayo. They will not give him full credit for his city! What a shame.
Even the Khumalos who are related to him, choose to undermine him and his name by mobilising each other to celebrate his father King Mzilikazi out in the bush where they can't even build toilets and then returning to King Lobengula's Bulawayo where their homes are, but look down on him, despise him and sideline him never ever to celebrate the man who gave them and the world this Bulawayo.
The king's direct descendants have all gone underground and think it's stupid to celebrate the man who created Bulawayo. They want to be kings first like him before they can celebrate him. What madness! The children of all those who were chiefs in King Lobengula's government in Bulawayo have also vanished into thin air or are waiting for some President Obama and President Zuma or the fast boys from Harare to give them donations to celebrate the man who worked with their forefathers to create this great heritage that is the city of Bulawayo. It won't happen! Get up people and celebrate your own as nothing is stopping you except you.
It is clear to all that if it was not for the white colonial administrators the public memory of King Lobengula kaMzilikazi would have been wiped off our national memory by now. His own don't care about him!
All Bulawayo citizens organising high profile events in this city MUST create a space in their programme to remember the founder of this city. Show some respect people because you and those that you celebrate have never been able to create your own city! All you have done is inherit other people's cities and try to administer them including this King Lobengula's city. The boy deserves some respect from all of us who call Bulawayo home sweet home.
Source - chronicle
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