King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu - 2021

A reign characterised by wisdom,compassion and courage

BY PRINCE MANGOSUTHU BUTHELEZI MP, TRADITIONAL PRIME MINISTER TO THE ZULU MONARCH AND NATION

MY heart was pierced by the passing of His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu. The relationship I had with my nephew, the king, endured for the full 72 years of his life. There are just too many memories to speak of. It pains me to think of this loss to the Zulu Nation.

I still remember the passing of the king’s grandfather, King Solomon Maphumzana kaDinuzulu. I can never forget the wave of voices that crashed over KwaDlamahlahla Palace in the wailing of thousands of mourners. For days they arrived, weeping and lamenting.

When King Cyprian Bhekuzulu Nyangayezizwe kaSolomon ascended to the throne, and appointed me as traditional prime minister to the Zulu monarch and nation, I thought I would serve my cousin for decades. Yet on 17 September 1968, we received news that the king had died. Again, there was an outpouring of grief.

Never in my wildest imaginings could I anticipate living through this again. The loss of another king within my lifetime seemed impossible.

When I stood at the coronation of King Cyprian’s son in December 1971, I prayed for longevity for our king, knowing that our people would benefit from a long reign. I thank God for answering my prayers. King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu became our nation’s longest reigning monarch.

For almost 50 years he lived and breathed to serve his people. I consider it an unparalleled privilege to have served him for all those years.

We have lost a monarch who reigned over 12 million people, and who commanded such respect that kings and presidents from around the world have mourned his passing. His reign was characterised by wisdom, compassion and courage. When he spoke, we knew that he had the interests of our nation at heart.

He urged us to protect ourselves by going back to the land, and he led by example. When he told us to plough our fields, he also ploughed his fields. When he told us to grow food, he was growing food. This gives the measure of his integrity.

His Majesty was a champion of social justice, the greatest advocate for education, and the finest philanthropist we could hope to have. I was present when the University of Zululand bestowed upon him an honorary doctorate in Philanthropy in recognition of his work to uplift his people.

He worked with and through countless organisations. The Sivananda World Peace Foundation, the Bayede Foundation, the Victor Daitz Foundation, the Gandhi Development Trust, agricultural associations, conservation programmes, education trusts, HIV/Aids campaigns, cultural preservation initiatives, work against gender-based violence, moral integrity movements and religious bodies.

Wherever he saw value in the work being done, he generously supported it.

One of the greatest testaments to his leadership was the decision to reinstate some of our traditional customs and ceremonies, including the Reed Dance Ceremony. He understood the importance of restoring the moral fibre of our nation, to protect both our health and culture.

He urged us to return to precious values that are fast disappearing. Values like respect, discipline, responsibility, sacrifice and integrity.

To the present generation these words may sound archaic. But our nation was built on the values of sacrifice, endurance and commitment. If we are to honour our king’s legacy and secure our nation’s survival, we have no choice but to invest again in these sound values.

A changing world does not demand that we lose our identity. In fact, unless we become more conscious of our identity and fierce in preserving it, we may become lost.

There are calls everywhere for change; for the course decided by others to be disrupted. That is what His Majesty our king achieved. He disrupted the course of HIV/Aids that was devastating our nation. He disrupted the instructions of the apartheid regime to comply with their every command. He disrupted the idea that democracy in the African context must exclude traditional leadership or the role of the monarchy. And he disrupted the path to poverty that would have been created if our communal land had been lost in 1994.

Our king’s forebears waged war to preserve our identity and protect our land. Our ancestors paid in blood to see our kingdom recognised. After generations of conquest, colonialism and dispossession, the Zulu Nation was left with only pieces of land. It is this land that we protected through the Ingonyama Trust Act, ensuring that it could remain as communal land, administered under indigenous and customary law.

His Majesty’s people retained the security of being able to access enough land to live on, to raise a family and produce food. Had we not placed this land under the Ingonyama Trust, it would automatically have been ceded to the state in April 1994.

The communities of our kingdom would be living today on state-owned land, with no security of tenure. Instead, the families of our nation have land to live on, and land to farm.

I cannot imagine a more fitting tribute to our king than to see his people return to self-help and selfreliance by cultivating the land. If we can see the hills and valleys of Zululand green again with crops and vegetables, we will have honoured his greatest wish.

UNGANGEZWE LAKHE

INkosi Sbonelo N. Mkhize, uSihlalo webhodi lenkampani Ithala SOC Limited, kanye noDokotela Thulani Vilakazi, uMphathi omkhulu i-Chief Executive Officer we-Ithala SOC Limited, kanye nesigungu esiphezulu nabasebenzi be-Ithala SOC Limited, badlulisa ukwezwelana neNdlunkulu nesizwe samaZulu ngokukhothama kweMbube, iSilo Samabandla Onke, uNgangezwe lakhe uZwelithini kaBhekuzulu kaSolomon kaDinizulu kaCetshwayo kaMpande kaSenzangakhona kaJama okhothame ngoLwesihlanu mhlaka-12 Ndasa 2021.

Sidlulisa ukwezwelana nabaNguni bonke e-Afrika nomhlaba jikelele, kakhulu oNdlunkulu, amaZinyane eSilo, abaNtwana bonke baseNdlunkulu, iziNdlu zobuholi boMdabu, amaKhosi aseNdlunkulu neziNduna, abadidiyeli bezinsizwa namabutho, nazozonke izinhlaka zikaHulumeni ngokukhothama koMdlokombane. Izinhliziyo zigcwele ukudabuka kanye nozwelo.

ISilo sidlale indima enkulu ukuqinisekisa amagugu, nobuholi kanye nokuthuthukisa iSizwe sakwaZulu. Sikhulekela iNdlunkulu njengoba ihamba esigodini esibuhlungu sokulahlekelwa, ngakho siyifisela ukuthula nokududuzeka ngalesisikhathi esinzima.

Hamba Ndlondlo enophaph’ ekhanda kaMenzi. Usikhonzele koJama kaNdaba, koPhunga, koMageba kaZulu nazozonke izinsika zesizwe.

Wena weNdlovu! Bayede!