Date set for burial of Mpondo queen mom

WESTERN Mpondoland Queen Mother Bhongolwethu Fikelephi Ndamase will be buried at the Nyandeni Great Place in Libode on Saturday.

The royal family met at the weekend and agreed on the date, with a number of activities, including church prayers and the ceremony of ukuxhonywa kwebhayi (hoisting of the church gown), before she is laid to rest.

The 56-year-old mother of reigning Western Mpondoland King Ndamase Ndlovuyezwe Ndamase, was admitted to Life St Mary’s Private Hospital in Mthatha last Wednesday for observation and routine tests related to diabetes, but died in the early hours of the following day.

Yesterday a big multi-denominational prayer service was held at the Great Place.

Senior royal houses of the Mpondo nation are calling for the queen mother’s death to be a catalyst to unite the nation, the royal family and the Faku royal clan.

A high-powered delegation from eSwatini, led by Prince Nkosinathi Dlamini, brother of King Sobhuza III, visited the Great Place. The queen mother was a Swati princess.

AmaXhosa and Eastern Mpondoland also visited the bereaved family over the weekend.

The funeral date was announced by royal family spokesman Nkosi Mlimandlela Ndamase.

“The funeral will be held on June 16. We are preparing to give the queen mother a dignified send-off that is a real reflection of who she was in life and as a person.

“We have received messages of condolences from various royal families and from government leaders and political organisations, as well as church leaders and other stakeholders,” Mlimandlela said. —