Lozwi empire king, Mambo clarifies ascendance to the throne

LOZWI/Rozvi empire king, Mambo born Mike Moyo has clarified his ascendance to the throne, noting that his was not by ambition but was one that was led by the spiritual realm.

King Mambo was installed on 7 September last year during a coronation ceremony at Mawabeni, Esigodini in Umzingwane district that was reportedly attended by over 10 000 people and 121 chiefs. In an interview with Sunday News on Thursday at his ''palace'' in Matsheumhlope, King Mambo said that he did not force himself to the throne but it was a culmination of spiritual occurrences that saw him being identified as the rightful heir to the throne.

He said while he was previously an activist against the revival of the Ndebele kingdom, he had not seen himself as the chosen one to become the new King Mambo.

"My being King Mambo was not an issue of ambition but it was led spiritually by our ancestors. What you should realise is that there were over 10 000 people who claimed direct lineage to the Mambo throne and all I knew was that I was part of the family that was direct descendants to the last Lozwi/Rozvi king, Chilisamuli but I did not consider myself as the heir to the throne.

"For me to be identified it began in 2018 with a former Plumtree High School student, who by then was doing Form Two. She had a spirit manifest in her, which was demanding to be taken to King Mambo. The school actually expelled her saying they could not accommodate someone who was possessed by a demon," said King Mambo.

He went further to explain that after the spirit medium-cum-student was expelled, she relocated to South Africa where the spirit once again manifested, further demanding to be taken to King Mambo, even giving her mother an idea on how the Mambo family can be traced.
"The spirit medium instructed the mother to go to a Mr Nkomo she worked with in South Africa, advising that this gentleman could direct them to the Mambo family. Initially Mr Nkomo refused to assist as he was Christian but after more nagging he eventually gave in and contacted us.

"When we heard that there was a spirit medium that wanted to meet us, I was initially reluctant but the day we invited the girl and her mother to our house, the girl came straight to me and once again the spirit began manifesting, we spoke at length, during which the spirit medium informed me I had to reclaim my rightful throne and that it was time that I go back to Zimbabwe to take my place as the leader of the Lozwi/Rozvi empire," said King Mambo.

He said while he continued questioning the calling, he demanded to know if it was the rightful call, he asked the ancestors to give a sign of rain, of which it rained for a continuous five days.

"When we came to Zimbabwe, I then met a gentleman who offered to go pray for me at Manyanga (Intaba zikaMambo), what shocked me is when we got there, without introduction, the spirit medium there, Gogo MaMoyo, identified me as King Mambo, welcoming me saying they had been expecting me.

"After this we then started engaging traditional leaders, informing them that King Mambo was now there, in all instances we did not even reach the point of introductions before respective spirit mediums manifested and welcomed us as the King Mambo delegation," said King Mambo.

The last Mambo king, Chilisamuli, died in 1835.