News / Press Release
Statement from the Royal House of Khumalos, Amantungwa, on the restoration of the Ndebele/Mthwakazi monarch
21 Aug 2017 at 01:09hrs | Views
INTRODUCTION
1. DULY mandated by the Ndebele/Mthwakazi people as dictated to by their traditions, historical precedents and cultural values, chiefs and many meetings by various cultural and civic groups, the Khumalos, assembled as a special conference, in consultation with relevant chiefs, have the privilege to announce to the nation and the world that Bulelani Colin Lobengula Khumalo is the Crown Prince to the throne that was left vacant after his great, great, great grand father King Lobhengula was overthrown by colonial settlers in 1893.
2. The Crown Prince is the son of Prince Humphrey Mcedisi Lobengula, son of Prince Patrick Fana Boyd Lobengula, son of Prince Rhodes Mpango Lobengula, son Prince Njube Lobengula Khumalo, son of King Lobhengula Khumalo, son of King Mzilikazi kaMatshobana.
3. The Crown Prince is 32 years old, born in Eastern Cape, South Africa, and currently unmarried and without any children. His mother is Tembakazi Patience Maxengana Lobengula.
4. All the known Khumalo houses were represented in the deliberations and consultations by elders. We proactively sought to be as comprehensive and inclusive as possible. For this reason, the outcome of the search is a product of all persons who participated.
BACKGROUND GUIDELINES ON THE SEARCH FOR THE CROWN PRINCE
5. In our search for the Crown Prince, we followed long established traditions and cultural values as follows:
(a) In the Ndebele/Mthwakazi tradition and culture, the search and crowning of a King must always involve the Chiefs as people's representatives.
(b) The identification of the heir is a Khumalo family matter, however, the coronation is a people-centred and people-driven process, led by the Chiefs. The Monarch does not belong to amaKhumalo but belongs to the people.
(c) The identification of the Crown Prince and the restoration of the Monarch is based on the principle of inkosi izala inkosi which was operating on the 4th of December 1893 when King Lobhengula was overthrown by colonial settlers. The principle of inkosi izala inkosi means a combination of the following:
(i) That you have to be a direct descendant of the King for you to be considered to take over the throne;
(ii) That you have to have been born to a mother who married a King (not a Prince); and
(iii) That even if you are the biological son of the King, you are disqualified from taking over the throne if your mother was married to a Prince before he became the King.
(6) In this instance, all the King's sons who were born outside the principle of inkosi izala inkosi do not qualify to be considered for the throne. This principle also disqualifies all of their descendants.
(7) Prince Mphezeni, Prince Njube, Prince Nguboyenja, and Prince Sidojiwe are the only ones who qualify for consideration in terms of inkosi izala inkosi principle.
(8) Princes Mphezeni and Nguboyenja died without any offspring. Princes Njube and Sidojiwe were the only ones who had any children. Prince Njube, being the eldest of the two was therefore the heir to the throne. His sons went on to establish the Highlangers Football Club (ithimu yezwe lonke).
(9) The process of identification of the Heir involved taking into account the following:
(a) Amasiko (traditional rites) of the Ndebele nation.
(b) Imbali (history, oral and written) of the Mthwakazi Kingdom.
(c)Ukucubungula (research) by the Khumalo family.
(d) UMhlahlo (spiritual search) by the Khumalos and the Ndebele elders.
PRINCIPLES OPERATIONALISING THE MONARCH
10. The operationalisation details of the Monarch will be determined by the nation, chiefs and other such bodies as have been or shall be established. Essentially, this is not an absolute Monarch.
CORONATION
11. The Crown Prince will be coronated and revealed to the Mthwakazi Nation and to the world in due course, marking the official resuscitation of the Monarch from where King Lobhengula left off on 4 December 1893.
WAY FORWARD
12. Unless otherwise dictated by utmost need, even after officially naming the Crown Prince as we have done today, in our culture the Crown Prince will only be unveiled at his coronation as King which is expected to take place in due course. So today it is enough to know him by name only.
13. Our task of identifying the Crown Prince having been executed, we now have the privilege to officially hand over to the nation and their chiefs. The rest of the processes will be determined by the people working with their chiefs as per our tradition.
CONCLUSION
14. In conclusion, we wish to take this opportunity to call for unity on all processes that will follow. We are grateful for the support we received from the chiefs and people from all walks of life, those in organisations and outside organisations, at home and in the Diaspora. Please remember that the King is your King and cannot achieve anything without your support.
15. Further announcements will be made soon, especially on the coronation of the Crown Prince. We ask the nation to be patient and to follow directions from the chiefs.
16. The King will be available for whatever mandate you give him because inkosi yinkosi ngabantu.
17. Finally, we wish to declare unequivocally that there is only one Crown Prince, who will soon be King of the Ndebele/Mthwakazi, the one the Khumalos, chiefs and stakeholders are hereby announcing today. May it be known that all other claims to throne by anyone else today and going forward, are false, and so are all other previous claims over the years .
For more information please contact Chief Khayisa Ndiweni on +263 715 476 639 and/our spokesperson Mr. E. Ncube on +263 771 733 670
ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE CONFERENCE OF KHUMALOS - SECRETARY MR. AYANDA KHUMALO Email: inkosiyakithi@gmail.com
1. DULY mandated by the Ndebele/Mthwakazi people as dictated to by their traditions, historical precedents and cultural values, chiefs and many meetings by various cultural and civic groups, the Khumalos, assembled as a special conference, in consultation with relevant chiefs, have the privilege to announce to the nation and the world that Bulelani Colin Lobengula Khumalo is the Crown Prince to the throne that was left vacant after his great, great, great grand father King Lobhengula was overthrown by colonial settlers in 1893.
2. The Crown Prince is the son of Prince Humphrey Mcedisi Lobengula, son of Prince Patrick Fana Boyd Lobengula, son of Prince Rhodes Mpango Lobengula, son Prince Njube Lobengula Khumalo, son of King Lobhengula Khumalo, son of King Mzilikazi kaMatshobana.
3. The Crown Prince is 32 years old, born in Eastern Cape, South Africa, and currently unmarried and without any children. His mother is Tembakazi Patience Maxengana Lobengula.
4. All the known Khumalo houses were represented in the deliberations and consultations by elders. We proactively sought to be as comprehensive and inclusive as possible. For this reason, the outcome of the search is a product of all persons who participated.
BACKGROUND GUIDELINES ON THE SEARCH FOR THE CROWN PRINCE
5. In our search for the Crown Prince, we followed long established traditions and cultural values as follows:
(a) In the Ndebele/Mthwakazi tradition and culture, the search and crowning of a King must always involve the Chiefs as people's representatives.
(b) The identification of the heir is a Khumalo family matter, however, the coronation is a people-centred and people-driven process, led by the Chiefs. The Monarch does not belong to amaKhumalo but belongs to the people.
(c) The identification of the Crown Prince and the restoration of the Monarch is based on the principle of inkosi izala inkosi which was operating on the 4th of December 1893 when King Lobhengula was overthrown by colonial settlers. The principle of inkosi izala inkosi means a combination of the following:
(i) That you have to be a direct descendant of the King for you to be considered to take over the throne;
(ii) That you have to have been born to a mother who married a King (not a Prince); and
(iii) That even if you are the biological son of the King, you are disqualified from taking over the throne if your mother was married to a Prince before he became the King.
(6) In this instance, all the King's sons who were born outside the principle of inkosi izala inkosi do not qualify to be considered for the throne. This principle also disqualifies all of their descendants.
(7) Prince Mphezeni, Prince Njube, Prince Nguboyenja, and Prince Sidojiwe are the only ones who qualify for consideration in terms of inkosi izala inkosi principle.
(8) Princes Mphezeni and Nguboyenja died without any offspring. Princes Njube and Sidojiwe were the only ones who had any children. Prince Njube, being the eldest of the two was therefore the heir to the throne. His sons went on to establish the Highlangers Football Club (ithimu yezwe lonke).
(9) The process of identification of the Heir involved taking into account the following:
(a) Amasiko (traditional rites) of the Ndebele nation.
(b) Imbali (history, oral and written) of the Mthwakazi Kingdom.
(c)Ukucubungula (research) by the Khumalo family.
(d) UMhlahlo (spiritual search) by the Khumalos and the Ndebele elders.
PRINCIPLES OPERATIONALISING THE MONARCH
10. The operationalisation details of the Monarch will be determined by the nation, chiefs and other such bodies as have been or shall be established. Essentially, this is not an absolute Monarch.
CORONATION
11. The Crown Prince will be coronated and revealed to the Mthwakazi Nation and to the world in due course, marking the official resuscitation of the Monarch from where King Lobhengula left off on 4 December 1893.
WAY FORWARD
12. Unless otherwise dictated by utmost need, even after officially naming the Crown Prince as we have done today, in our culture the Crown Prince will only be unveiled at his coronation as King which is expected to take place in due course. So today it is enough to know him by name only.
13. Our task of identifying the Crown Prince having been executed, we now have the privilege to officially hand over to the nation and their chiefs. The rest of the processes will be determined by the people working with their chiefs as per our tradition.
CONCLUSION
14. In conclusion, we wish to take this opportunity to call for unity on all processes that will follow. We are grateful for the support we received from the chiefs and people from all walks of life, those in organisations and outside organisations, at home and in the Diaspora. Please remember that the King is your King and cannot achieve anything without your support.
15. Further announcements will be made soon, especially on the coronation of the Crown Prince. We ask the nation to be patient and to follow directions from the chiefs.
16. The King will be available for whatever mandate you give him because inkosi yinkosi ngabantu.
17. Finally, we wish to declare unequivocally that there is only one Crown Prince, who will soon be King of the Ndebele/Mthwakazi, the one the Khumalos, chiefs and stakeholders are hereby announcing today. May it be known that all other claims to throne by anyone else today and going forward, are false, and so are all other previous claims over the years .
For more information please contact Chief Khayisa Ndiweni on +263 715 476 639 and/our spokesperson Mr. E. Ncube on +263 771 733 670
ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE CONFERENCE OF KHUMALOS - SECRETARY MR. AYANDA KHUMALO Email: inkosiyakithi@gmail.com
Source - Royal House of Khumalos, Amantungwa
