'Ndebele King' demands keys to State House

IN an unprecedented move that borders on treason, a man who claims to be the rightful heir to the Ndebele Kingdom, Mr Stanley Raphael Khumalo is demanding keys to the State House in Bulawayo, claiming it is his official residence.

The behaviour of Mr Khumalo who all along has been using Tshuma as his surname has drawn outrage from the Mthwakazi KaMzilikazi Cultural Society, an organisation that promotes Ndebele culture and is made up of members of the royal family.

It is the feeling of the Mthwakazi KaMzilikazi Cultural Society that Mr Khumalo is dragging the name of the royal family through the mud with his antics despite the fact that there are doubts of him being part of the Khumalos. There is also a feeling that political parties such as Mthwakazi Liberation Front, Mthwakazi Republic Party and Matabeleland Liberation Organisation that are pushing the secessionist agenda are feeding off from Mr Khumalo's antics.

Since last year Mr Khumalo has been writing letters addressed to President Mugabe, the United Nations, African Union which were copied to regional leaders such as South African President Jacob Zuma and his Botswana counterpart Ian Khama claiming that he had revived the Ndebele Kingdom. He claims that his move to revive the Ndebele Kingdom emanates from a vision he had in 2002 while in Britain where he was based.

Mr Khumalo said in the vision "God told me that ‘He loves His people and has made me their king'."

In the letter purportedly addressed to President Mugabe, Mr Khumalo said he had declared 5 November 2016 as the day for the restoration of the Mthwakazi Kingdom and that he was now King Mzilikazi II. He goes on to say he should now move to his official residence, which is the State House in Bulawayo.


"It is now for HRM King Mzilikazi II to move to his official residence, Esigodlweni which is the current State House in Bulawayo. This is the physical and spiritual home for the Mthwakazi kingship. The move is also for the sake of the dignity and organisation of the king and of his nation. As the king I must begin to earnestly work towards the full healing and full restoration of my people. I cannot allow their suffering to continue any day longer," wrote Mr Khumalo.

However, leaders of the Mthwakazi KaMzilikazi Cultural Society, Messers Actwell Mbambo, Nhlanhla Khumalo, Roger Mthethwa and Sipho Gama who visited Sunday News offices recently said they were dissociating themselves from Mr Stanley Khumalo's "madness."

The four said they were worried that Mr Khumalo whom they kept on referring to as Stanley Tshuma was misleading members of the public by holding sacred Ndebele ceremonies such as inxwala which were only presided over by the king.

They said members of the public should be wary of elements who were going around abusing the name, Mthwakazi.

"We are not happy that the name Mthwakazi is being tainted by a few individuals for political expediency. We are not fighting the Central Government as our agenda as Mthwakazi ka Mzilikazi is to see us co-existing with the Government," said Mr Nhlanhla Khumalo.

"We are not secessionists at all. Our agenda is cultural not political. We want the restoration of the kingdom but we believe there is a need for us to respect the laws of the country as we move towards that. "

Mr Mbambo who is the executive co-ordinator for the Mthwakazi KaMzilikazi Cultural Association said Mr Raphael Khumalo did not even understand the succession process of the Nguni as the person would should be coronated as the Ndebele King should be from the house of King Lobengula not from other royal houses because King Lobengula was the last king.