AmaZulu King MisuZulu KaZwelithini has unleashed a tirade against those among his subjects calling for the mass deportation of illegal immigrants, saying the Zulu people had historical and ancestral ties with some of the foreign nationals they were chasing away.
The King was reacting in the aftermath of the nationwide protests organised, among others, by the March and March movement.
“I’m directing this message to you as the AmaZulu traditional prime minister (Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi) and responsible for this department. There are those belonging to the Zulu nation who are in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. They are the generation of Mzilikazi kaMashobane. Today, I feel terrible pain that they are being chased out of the country. There is also the Zulu nation who are based in Malawi. All these people respect my throne. Be careful who you chase away,” the king said.
He called on his subjects to be tolerant to other nations, saying nobody could claim to be pure Zulu.
“No-one can stand up here and say he/she was an undiluted Zulu. I call upon you to have humanity. Any nation who respects itself earns the respect of other nations,” he charged.
The stance by the Zulu king has caused friction among his subjects calling him a sell-out.
Leading up to the mass roll-out of marches held on Tuesday, the Zulu royal house had issued a stern warning telling the marchers to leave the monarch out of their cause. The king said the Zulu kingdom would not endorse or support voices against illegal immigrants. KwaZulu-Natal is considered the heart of the anti-illegal demonstrations although other provinces have since joined in.
The ancestral ties between Malawi and the Zulu people stem directly from the so-called Ngoni migrations of the 19th century. Ngoni is a Zulu word loosely translated as those who don’t do wrong. The grouping was driven out of KwaZulu-Natal by King Shaka during what was known as the Mfecane wars where king Shaka had embarked on a conquering crusade. The groups led by their King Zwangendaba journeyed north, eventually settling in Malawi. These descendants still practice Zulu language, tradition and culture derived from their ancestors. Their kingdom is located in Mzimba, northern Malawi.
On the other hand, Mzilikazi kaMashobane of the Khumalo clan was a prominent Zulu general and the founder of the Ndebele people in Zimbabwe. After fearing the wrath of King Shaka, he together with his supporters fled north where they conquered local tribes, eventually settling in what is now known as Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, leaders of the anti-illegal immigration have vowed to intensify the fight against undocumented foreign nationals until they win the war.
“Every Thursday for the next six months, we are marching until all undocumented immigrants are gone. I guess the government will have to spend R600m every Thursday,” Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, a fierce leader of the March and March movement.
She was speaking to thousands of supporters who had gathered near Point police station in the eThekwini’s South Beach area. The precinct is considered the capital of drugs and illicit activities in Durban.