Durban - King Goodwill Zwelithini has come out guns blazing against people trying to “destroy African culture” and prevent him from reclaiming land colonials seized centuries ago.
The king called on young men, who are members of his traditional regiment after being circumcised, to unite and be ready to defend the legacy of the Nguni nations.
He was speaking in Kokstad on Wednesday during a ceremony to celebrate the successful traditional circumcision of more than 200 young men.
They had undertaken the traditional initiation in November and this month and included members of the Zulu and Hlubi tribes.
In South Africa Ngunis are made up of Zulus, Xhosas, Mpondos and Ndebeles.
During his speech, the monarch lashed out at those criticising his blanket land claim of KwaZulu-Natal after Parliament passed the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Act last year which extended the cut-off date for lodging of a land claim.
“These people are accusing us of destabilising (development) trusts by claiming our land.
“This is shocking, because this land was not taken from the trusts, which are now popular in the country, but was taken from traditional leaders, and your fathers and mothers,” he said.
Land rights activists, such as the Association For Rural Advancement, raised concerns last year that the blanket land claim would undermine communal land, while others said it would stifle the economy as it would affect commercial farms.
The organiser of the traditional practice in Kokstad, Benny Khobo, of the Indlondlo Circumcision Institute, said coloured and Sotho boys had also gone through the process. He said there had been no complications or fatalities during the circumcisions.
The king, who is head of the Izichwe regiment, announced that he was declaring this year “The Year of the Regiment”.
He also lashed out at critics of traditional courts who claimed they violated women’s and children’s rights. These critics were ignorant of the functioning of these courts, he said.
King Zwelithini said people were plotting ways to quash his attempt to reclaim land seized from traditional leaders in colonial times.
He noted that the Zulu nation had already defeated critics of the reed dance ceremony.
Human rights activists had for years been calling for an end to the reed dance, which, they said, violated the rights of young women by subjecting them to virginity testing.
“We defeated them and they disappeared. They again took the kingdom to court in Pietermaritzburg to demand the end of the Umkhosi Woselwa (first fruit festival).
“I sent my men (lawyers) to the court, and they were defeated quickly,” he said.
Animal rights activists had said Umkhosi Woselwa was perpetuating animal cruelty because men would bare-handedly kill a bull by twisting its neck.
The king said enemies of the Ngunis had not succumbed or disappeared.
“That is why I say my regiment must be ready.“
He said before King Shaka was murdered, Zulu, Mpondo and Xhosa nations had been talking about uniting to fight the colonists.
“After the death of King Shaka there were many attempts to divide the Nguni nations by colonialists and the masters of apartheid.
“The truth is that somehow they succeeded, because there are people here who think it was a mistake for me to set foot here.”
Cultural expert Professor Sihawu Ngubane, of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, said the king had hit the nail on the head and was following in King Shaka’s footsteps to unite the Nguni people.
“There are some among the Nguni people who are hell-bent on undermining African culture because they have adopted Western culture,” he said.
A spokesman for the Thembu nation in the Eastern Cape, Bhovulengwe Mtirara, said his nation supported the Zulu king’s call to Ngunis to reclaim their land.
“The Nguni nation is one. It was only divided by foreigners. We need to reclaim even the urban land because it was taken from traditional leaders,” he said.
The Mercury