STRONG WORDS
Queen’s burial heats up
LAND expropriation became a hot topic at the funeral of Queen Mother Bhongolwethu Ndamase in Nyandeni Great Place near Libode on Saturday.
Influential traditional leaders from both KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape vowed to take up arms and defend their land against anyone trying to usurp it.
The leaders, who said they were prepared to die for the land of their forebears, told thousands of mourners – including senior government officials, politicians, clergymen and business leaders – that any effort by government to interfere with land under traditional leaders’ administration will be playing with fire and that they would respond ruthlessly.
“That will be declaring war and the government must not dare test us.
“What the government and political leaders should be doing is only to expropriate without compensation the land that was taken from our people through the barrel of a gun by colonials,” said outspoken Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders provincial chairman Nkosi Mwelo Nonkonyana.
He said the state should instead concentrate on the 87% of land which was taken from them by white people.
Among those in attendance were cooperative governance and traditional affairs minister Zweli Mkhize, communications minister Nomvula Mokonyane, sport and recreation minister Tokozile Xasa, deputy labour minister Nkosi Phathekile Holomisa, deputy post and telecommunications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abraham, UDM leader Bantu Holomisa and various MECs, MPs, MPLs and mayors.
“It shows a lack of respect and cowardice from you that you are instead challenging us on the 13% of land we own and letting the white people with the 87% escape scot-free.
“It lacks logic and is a provocation to traditional leadership,” said Nonkonyana, who is also a former ANC MP.
Earlier on, Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini’s representative Prince Avani Zulu said the monarch and his traditional leaders and councillors had made it clear that nobody would interfere with the land under his administration.
“We will die protecting our land. Just like a man fighting for his wife or defending her, land is so important to us and we will take up arms and defend it if we are pushed,” Zulu said.
These comments came as the national government is busy trying to organise meetings with kings and other traditional leaders to discuss the land issue in the administration of traditional leadership.
Nonkonyana said “pouring salt on the wound” were recent comments by former president Kgalema Motlanthe and deputy president David Mabuza regarding the land issue.
“The ANC has showed us their other colour. They forget that the 13% of land we have today was because of the blood of traditional leaders and their people who fought against the colonialists, long before the ANC was born. The comments by Motlanthe and the deputy president were insulting to say the least,” said Nonkonyana.
In response, Mkhize said traditional leaders should cool down as nobody was going to take their land.
“The discussion is about how to address land ownership in communal land. That is the only discussion between ourselves as government, traditional and communal leaders,” he said.
The congress of traditional leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) is organising a meeting of all kings in an effort to close ranks on what they see as a looming attack by government.
Ndamase, the mother of reigning Western Mpondoland King Ndamase Ndamase, died on June 6.
She led the kingdom as regent for 11 years and continued as head of the Makhotyana traditional council until she died. —