Opinion / Columnist
Highlanders Football Club @ 90: The Ndebele royal connection
06 Apr 2016 at 01:40hrs | Views
THIS year Highlanders Football Club, formerly Lions Club and later Matabeleland Football Club, turns 90 years old. The club was established in 1926 by Ndebele royal sons.
It is envisaged that the celebrations will continue till the club attains a centenary status when the celebrations will reach a crescendo in 2026.
In the meantime, we need to deal with the growth, development and transformation of Zimbabwe's oldest soccer outfit.
Today we begin with establishing the royal link between the club and Ndebele royalty.
This is done in recognition and celebration of the roles played by the pioneering men, Albert Njube Lobengula Khumalo and his younger brother Rhodes Lobengula Khumalo in establishing the soccer club that has weathered turbulent storms and still exists to this day and continues to fly high the flag of Ndebele royalty.
It is not all of us who are au fait with the royal links that princes Rhodes and Albert had.
For this we need to go back to the founding of the Ndebele nation by King Mzilikazi Khumalo, the son of Matshobana (mother was a MaHlabangana of the AmaNtshali) kaMangethe kaLanga.
We are aware of lack of unanimity relating to the king's maternity.
With Reverend AT Bryant having written that his mother was Nompethu Nxumalo there has been a tendency to follow that line of thought though evidence on the ground points in a totally different direction.
As we shall see later, the Ndiweni connection seems more credible. Apparently, King Mzilikazi's mother was one Cikose Ndiweni, the daughter of Ndlovu Ndiweni king of the AmaNgwe (abasis' esihl' esalal' inkos' uMzilikazi).
The Amanyangana/Ngwende section of the Khumalos, in Zimbabwe represented by Ntola (born a crippled child and saved by a Kalanga woman captive who said, "Ndamutola.") Mkhaliphi, Mlonyeni and Madliwa Khumalo lineages threw their weight behind Prince Mzilikazi Khumalo's claim to the throne ahead of Prince Dwangubani Khumalo and pledged to assist with the provision of medical formulations to buttress and entrench Prince Mzilikazi Khumalo's hold on the throne.
As a result, that section of the Khumalos began to be known as Amanyangana, those who fortified both King Mzilikazi's person and his settlements.
This is the section of the Khumalos that is praised as, "Amadelakubusa, bathi akubuse abezindlwana."
When King Mzilikazi died in September 1868, he was succeeded by Prince Lobengula Khumalo, a son of Fulatha Tshabalala, okaMabindela.
This was after a long but fruitless search for the rightful heir Prince Nkulumane, the son of King Mzilikazi by Mwaka Nxumalo.
On the advice of Regent uMncumbatha kaKholo kaManzamnyama Khumalo and other Ndebele elders, a decision was reached to install Prince Lobengula Khumalo albeit against stiff opposition led by Chief Mbiko kaMadlenya Masuku, chief of Zwangendaba Village who married Princess Zinkabi Khumalo, a sister to Prince Nkulumane Khumalo.
Zwangendaba Village was located at Engcekezeni across the Mbembesi River where it is crossed by the road from Bulawayo to Inyathi Mission.
Be that as it may, Prince Lobengula Khumalo was installed in January 1870 (wabusa wadanisa).
The new monarch proceeded to establish his royal town which he named Gibixhegu.
A civil war ensued at the instigation of Princess Zinkabi who influenced her husband to resist the ascension of Prince Lobengula.
In the ensuing military contestation King Lobengula Khumalo's forces were victorious and, upon return to his royal town, King Lobengula renamed his town Kobulawayo, the place where he who is being tormented, opposed and persecuted lives.
It should be appreciated that both princes Nkulumane and Lobengula were born to a reigning king and thus qualified to succeed their father King Mzilikazi Khumalo.
There were several other sons but less royal on account of the fact that they were born of a man (indoda)-Prince Mzilikazi Khumalo before he ascended the royal throne.
We are aware of four such wives who were married to Prince Mzilikazi Khumalo the man: MaDlodlo (whose son was Mangwana and his descendant Bulelani was reported present during the recent Luke Mnkandla-led delegation's visit to Grahamstown), MaSigola (son was uMuntu, later known as Tshukisa), MaFuyane (son was Lopila) and Masuku (son was Qalingana the father to Sikhonkwane).
The four sons may not, in the technical sense of the word, be referred to as princes. A prince is born of a queen who is wife to a king.
As a general rule, the queen is herself connected to another royalty as was the case when King Lobengula married Queen Xhwalile, a sister to Shangani king Mzila Nxumalo.
The arrangement was meant to cement cordial relations between the two nations and pre-empt any potential wars.
It should be abundantly clear that tracing the establishment of Highlanders Football Club is synonymous with the tracing of the Ndebele royal line in terms of identifying the royal Khumalo house that should be called upon to provide a candidate for the Ndebele monarchy if it should be revived.
It is common to have a future king or prince live along his father.
The future king may even marry while his father still sits on the royal throne, resulting in such children not qualifying for the royal throne when the incumbent king dies.
That is precisely what happened in relation to King Mzilikazi Khumalo's sons named above.
They were born when Matshobana Khumalo was still alive and the powerful monarchy that King Mzilikazi Khumalo was to found had not then been created.
Let's remember too that the heir apparent's mother, Indlovukazi, had her amalobolo paid for by the nation.
It was no different with King Lobengula Khumalo. He married while King Mzilikazi Khumalo was still the reigning king.
We are very certain of at least two wives, not queens. The first to be married was Mbhida Mkhwananzi okaLodada whose eldest son was Nyamande.
There was another son also by Mbhida Mkhwananzi, Tshakalisa, otherwise known as Sintingantinga senkosi, or just Sintinga.
Apparently, Mbhida Mkhwananzi did not immediately conceive after her marriage to Prince Lobengula Khumalo, a situation that prompted the Mkhwananzis to send another of their daughters, one Mfaziwamajaha Mkhwananzi.
However, before Mfaziwamajaha conceived Mbhida conceived. Mfaziwamajaha's son was Mhlambi (umhlambi wezinkomo wehluleka ukumgxoba umbulale), the father of Dabengwa Khumalo who is buried alongside Queen Lozikeyi Dlodlo at Nkosikazi.
Even if Mfaziwamajaha had conceived earlier than Mbhida, Mhlambi would not have been considered senior to Nyamande.
The reason is that Mbhida was the senior between the two wives and her son, even when younger, would have been considered senior.
In any case, the matter is neither here nor there as none of the two ordinary wives of Prince Lobengula Khumalo qualified as queens as they were married to a man rather than a king.
Their sons therefore were excluded from royal succession.
After Princess Xhwalile Nxumalo failed to conceive and later died, it was Queen Lozikeyi Dlodlo who assumed the status of Indlovukazi or unina womuzi.
As is well known, Queen Lozikeyi Dlodlo, okaNgogo, had no issue, thus prompting the Dlodlos to send Mletshe Dlodlo's daughter, one Mamfimfi to become surrogate wife, inhlanzi for Queen Lozikeyi Dlodlo.
As it turned out Queen Mamfimfi produced one daughter Sidambe, so named after the gynaecological interventions of traditional healer Sidambe Ncube.
You may be wondering where Albert and Rhodes, the two royal princes that established Highlanders Football Club come in.
After Prince Lobengula ascended the royal throne he married more wives, this time his wives qualified to be called queens and to produce qualifying sons, Abantwana, qualified to succeed him.
It was only proper that the delegation that went to Grahamstown included Chief Nyangazonke Ndiweni.
When Prince Njube died in South Africa in 1910 it was Nyangazonke Ndiweni who went to bury Prince Njube Khumalo a son of his aunt Mpoliyana Ndiweni.
Remember Chief Faku Ndiweni was the father of Nyangazonke, whose mother was Princess Nedlana Khumalo a daughter of King Mzilikazi Khumalo.
The first such queen was Mpoliyana Ndiweni the daughter of Chief Mabuyana Ndiweni of Ezinaleni or Ezisongweni who was the son of Khondwane Ndiweni (Gundwane in history books) the man who was brother to King Mzilikazi's mother Cikose.
The son from that marriage was Prince Njube. It was also proper that Chief Mathema of Enqameni was part of the delegation.
The founding chief of Inqama, one Chief Somhlolo kaMadlikivana Mathema married a daughter of King Mzilikazi, Princess Lomahawu Khumalo who did not conceive.
The Khumalos brought Princess Nala Khumalo the daughter of Lopila Khumalo, son of King Mzilikazi Khumalo.
The resulting son Macebo is related to Chief Dliso Mathema from whom the incumbent chief of Inqama is descended.
The other queen, also a Ndiweni was Sitshwapha from Kwezimnyama.
Her son was Prince Nguboyenja Khumalo and daughter Princess Sixubhuzelo Khumalo.
We could also mention Queen Ngotsha Dlodlo (brother to Chief Mgandane Dlodlo the head of Inxa Village, a section of Amakhanda) the mother of Prince Sidojiwe Khumalo who together with Prince Nguboyenja Khumalo are buried with their grandfather King Mzilikazi Khumalo at Entumbane.
Another qualifying son was Prince Mphezeni.
Apparently arch imperialist Cecil John Rhodes certainly did his homework and identified the royal sons namely, Prince Njube, Prince Nguboyenja and Prince Mphezeni and spirited them out of Matabeleland to the Cape Province following the demise of the Ndebele State.
Rhodes' intention was to remove any possible rallying point that could lead to the resuscitation of the Ndebele monarchy and the State.
Of course, that was the intention although on the surface Rhodes claimed he wanted the sons to receive western education.
As we know Prince Nguboyenja who in later years lived with Manja Khumalo at Sunnyside in Bulawayo did not produce a son, nor did Prince Mphezeni Khumalo who died in South Africa.
It was thus left to Prince Njube Khumalo, the most senior of King Lobengula's qualifying sons, to produce a prospective future king in the event the Ndebele monarchy is revived as we hear talk about that these days.
It is thus Prince Njube's sons established Highlanders Football Club and as has become apparent, the club is strongly connected to
Ndebele royalty and the said sons are the link to the club, a link to King Lobengula and a link to King Mzilikazi as made patently clear from the above narrative.
In later instalments we shall unpack the royal connection and trace it beyond the two princes, Albert and Rhodes.
It is envisaged that the celebrations will continue till the club attains a centenary status when the celebrations will reach a crescendo in 2026.
In the meantime, we need to deal with the growth, development and transformation of Zimbabwe's oldest soccer outfit.
Today we begin with establishing the royal link between the club and Ndebele royalty.
This is done in recognition and celebration of the roles played by the pioneering men, Albert Njube Lobengula Khumalo and his younger brother Rhodes Lobengula Khumalo in establishing the soccer club that has weathered turbulent storms and still exists to this day and continues to fly high the flag of Ndebele royalty.
It is not all of us who are au fait with the royal links that princes Rhodes and Albert had.
For this we need to go back to the founding of the Ndebele nation by King Mzilikazi Khumalo, the son of Matshobana (mother was a MaHlabangana of the AmaNtshali) kaMangethe kaLanga.
We are aware of lack of unanimity relating to the king's maternity.
With Reverend AT Bryant having written that his mother was Nompethu Nxumalo there has been a tendency to follow that line of thought though evidence on the ground points in a totally different direction.
As we shall see later, the Ndiweni connection seems more credible. Apparently, King Mzilikazi's mother was one Cikose Ndiweni, the daughter of Ndlovu Ndiweni king of the AmaNgwe (abasis' esihl' esalal' inkos' uMzilikazi).
The Amanyangana/Ngwende section of the Khumalos, in Zimbabwe represented by Ntola (born a crippled child and saved by a Kalanga woman captive who said, "Ndamutola.") Mkhaliphi, Mlonyeni and Madliwa Khumalo lineages threw their weight behind Prince Mzilikazi Khumalo's claim to the throne ahead of Prince Dwangubani Khumalo and pledged to assist with the provision of medical formulations to buttress and entrench Prince Mzilikazi Khumalo's hold on the throne.
As a result, that section of the Khumalos began to be known as Amanyangana, those who fortified both King Mzilikazi's person and his settlements.
This is the section of the Khumalos that is praised as, "Amadelakubusa, bathi akubuse abezindlwana."
When King Mzilikazi died in September 1868, he was succeeded by Prince Lobengula Khumalo, a son of Fulatha Tshabalala, okaMabindela.
This was after a long but fruitless search for the rightful heir Prince Nkulumane, the son of King Mzilikazi by Mwaka Nxumalo.
On the advice of Regent uMncumbatha kaKholo kaManzamnyama Khumalo and other Ndebele elders, a decision was reached to install Prince Lobengula Khumalo albeit against stiff opposition led by Chief Mbiko kaMadlenya Masuku, chief of Zwangendaba Village who married Princess Zinkabi Khumalo, a sister to Prince Nkulumane Khumalo.
Zwangendaba Village was located at Engcekezeni across the Mbembesi River where it is crossed by the road from Bulawayo to Inyathi Mission.
Be that as it may, Prince Lobengula Khumalo was installed in January 1870 (wabusa wadanisa).
The new monarch proceeded to establish his royal town which he named Gibixhegu.
A civil war ensued at the instigation of Princess Zinkabi who influenced her husband to resist the ascension of Prince Lobengula.
In the ensuing military contestation King Lobengula Khumalo's forces were victorious and, upon return to his royal town, King Lobengula renamed his town Kobulawayo, the place where he who is being tormented, opposed and persecuted lives.
It should be appreciated that both princes Nkulumane and Lobengula were born to a reigning king and thus qualified to succeed their father King Mzilikazi Khumalo.
There were several other sons but less royal on account of the fact that they were born of a man (indoda)-Prince Mzilikazi Khumalo before he ascended the royal throne.
We are aware of four such wives who were married to Prince Mzilikazi Khumalo the man: MaDlodlo (whose son was Mangwana and his descendant Bulelani was reported present during the recent Luke Mnkandla-led delegation's visit to Grahamstown), MaSigola (son was uMuntu, later known as Tshukisa), MaFuyane (son was Lopila) and Masuku (son was Qalingana the father to Sikhonkwane).
The four sons may not, in the technical sense of the word, be referred to as princes. A prince is born of a queen who is wife to a king.
As a general rule, the queen is herself connected to another royalty as was the case when King Lobengula married Queen Xhwalile, a sister to Shangani king Mzila Nxumalo.
The arrangement was meant to cement cordial relations between the two nations and pre-empt any potential wars.
It should be abundantly clear that tracing the establishment of Highlanders Football Club is synonymous with the tracing of the Ndebele royal line in terms of identifying the royal Khumalo house that should be called upon to provide a candidate for the Ndebele monarchy if it should be revived.
It is common to have a future king or prince live along his father.
The future king may even marry while his father still sits on the royal throne, resulting in such children not qualifying for the royal throne when the incumbent king dies.
That is precisely what happened in relation to King Mzilikazi Khumalo's sons named above.
They were born when Matshobana Khumalo was still alive and the powerful monarchy that King Mzilikazi Khumalo was to found had not then been created.
Let's remember too that the heir apparent's mother, Indlovukazi, had her amalobolo paid for by the nation.
It was no different with King Lobengula Khumalo. He married while King Mzilikazi Khumalo was still the reigning king.
We are very certain of at least two wives, not queens. The first to be married was Mbhida Mkhwananzi okaLodada whose eldest son was Nyamande.
There was another son also by Mbhida Mkhwananzi, Tshakalisa, otherwise known as Sintingantinga senkosi, or just Sintinga.
Apparently, Mbhida Mkhwananzi did not immediately conceive after her marriage to Prince Lobengula Khumalo, a situation that prompted the Mkhwananzis to send another of their daughters, one Mfaziwamajaha Mkhwananzi.
However, before Mfaziwamajaha conceived Mbhida conceived. Mfaziwamajaha's son was Mhlambi (umhlambi wezinkomo wehluleka ukumgxoba umbulale), the father of Dabengwa Khumalo who is buried alongside Queen Lozikeyi Dlodlo at Nkosikazi.
Even if Mfaziwamajaha had conceived earlier than Mbhida, Mhlambi would not have been considered senior to Nyamande.
The reason is that Mbhida was the senior between the two wives and her son, even when younger, would have been considered senior.
In any case, the matter is neither here nor there as none of the two ordinary wives of Prince Lobengula Khumalo qualified as queens as they were married to a man rather than a king.
Their sons therefore were excluded from royal succession.
After Princess Xhwalile Nxumalo failed to conceive and later died, it was Queen Lozikeyi Dlodlo who assumed the status of Indlovukazi or unina womuzi.
As is well known, Queen Lozikeyi Dlodlo, okaNgogo, had no issue, thus prompting the Dlodlos to send Mletshe Dlodlo's daughter, one Mamfimfi to become surrogate wife, inhlanzi for Queen Lozikeyi Dlodlo.
As it turned out Queen Mamfimfi produced one daughter Sidambe, so named after the gynaecological interventions of traditional healer Sidambe Ncube.
You may be wondering where Albert and Rhodes, the two royal princes that established Highlanders Football Club come in.
After Prince Lobengula ascended the royal throne he married more wives, this time his wives qualified to be called queens and to produce qualifying sons, Abantwana, qualified to succeed him.
It was only proper that the delegation that went to Grahamstown included Chief Nyangazonke Ndiweni.
When Prince Njube died in South Africa in 1910 it was Nyangazonke Ndiweni who went to bury Prince Njube Khumalo a son of his aunt Mpoliyana Ndiweni.
Remember Chief Faku Ndiweni was the father of Nyangazonke, whose mother was Princess Nedlana Khumalo a daughter of King Mzilikazi Khumalo.
The first such queen was Mpoliyana Ndiweni the daughter of Chief Mabuyana Ndiweni of Ezinaleni or Ezisongweni who was the son of Khondwane Ndiweni (Gundwane in history books) the man who was brother to King Mzilikazi's mother Cikose.
The son from that marriage was Prince Njube. It was also proper that Chief Mathema of Enqameni was part of the delegation.
The founding chief of Inqama, one Chief Somhlolo kaMadlikivana Mathema married a daughter of King Mzilikazi, Princess Lomahawu Khumalo who did not conceive.
The Khumalos brought Princess Nala Khumalo the daughter of Lopila Khumalo, son of King Mzilikazi Khumalo.
The resulting son Macebo is related to Chief Dliso Mathema from whom the incumbent chief of Inqama is descended.
The other queen, also a Ndiweni was Sitshwapha from Kwezimnyama.
Her son was Prince Nguboyenja Khumalo and daughter Princess Sixubhuzelo Khumalo.
We could also mention Queen Ngotsha Dlodlo (brother to Chief Mgandane Dlodlo the head of Inxa Village, a section of Amakhanda) the mother of Prince Sidojiwe Khumalo who together with Prince Nguboyenja Khumalo are buried with their grandfather King Mzilikazi Khumalo at Entumbane.
Another qualifying son was Prince Mphezeni.
Apparently arch imperialist Cecil John Rhodes certainly did his homework and identified the royal sons namely, Prince Njube, Prince Nguboyenja and Prince Mphezeni and spirited them out of Matabeleland to the Cape Province following the demise of the Ndebele State.
Rhodes' intention was to remove any possible rallying point that could lead to the resuscitation of the Ndebele monarchy and the State.
Of course, that was the intention although on the surface Rhodes claimed he wanted the sons to receive western education.
As we know Prince Nguboyenja who in later years lived with Manja Khumalo at Sunnyside in Bulawayo did not produce a son, nor did Prince Mphezeni Khumalo who died in South Africa.
It was thus left to Prince Njube Khumalo, the most senior of King Lobengula's qualifying sons, to produce a prospective future king in the event the Ndebele monarchy is revived as we hear talk about that these days.
It is thus Prince Njube's sons established Highlanders Football Club and as has become apparent, the club is strongly connected to
Ndebele royalty and the said sons are the link to the club, a link to King Lobengula and a link to King Mzilikazi as made patently clear from the above narrative.
In later instalments we shall unpack the royal connection and trace it beyond the two princes, Albert and Rhodes.
Source - chronicle
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