King Shaka Day celebrations postponed, king’s son dies
THIS year’s Umkhosi welembe (King Shaka Day) celebrations which were scheduled to be held for tomorrow at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium have been postponed in the wake of the death of King Goodwill Zwelithini’s son Prince Butho Zulu.
IFP leader Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, in his capacity as the traditional prime minister to the king and the Zulu nation, confirmed that the king’s son, 39, succumbed after a long illness on Wednesday afternoon.
The celebrations have been halted and the focus is now on preparations for Prince Butho’s funeral.
The service is set to take place at the Dlamahlahla Palace tomorrow after which the late prince will be buried at the royal cemetery in Mahashini, near Paulpietersburg.
Buthelezi said after consultations with Kwazulu-natal Premier Willies Mchunu, it was agreed that the celebrations would now be moved to next week Saturday so as to allow the family space to grieve.
He said that Prince Butho was the son of the king’s second wife Queen Buhle kamathe.
“He was still in the prime of his life, understandably this tragedy has devastated the royal family. I spent the greater part of Thursday with His Majesty as condolences were expressed and the family absorbed this difficult news,” Buthelezi said.
He added that a date for the second Imbizo of the Zulu nation on the issue of the Ingonyama Trust land would announced where the king would inform the nation on developments since the first Imbizo held in Ulundi, northern Kwazulu-natal, in July.
“On behalf of the Zulu nation, we ask that you keep His Majesty and the family in your prayers as they walk through this painful valley of loss,” Buthelezi said.
Thami Ngidi, spokesperson for Mchunu, said that the Premier was “very sensitive” to the loss and had expressed his own sadness and shock at the loss of the king’s son.
“We request that everyone, including the people of KZN, provide the space necessary for the royal family to attend to matters that are afflicting them at the moment particularly the passing of the King’s son,” Ngidi said.
Speaking at the recent Umkhosi Womhlanga (Reed Dance) held at the enyokeni Royal Palace, in Nongoma 300km north of Durban, the King called for a government investigation into the 2013 bus crash, near Melmoth on the R66 highway, that claimed the lives of nine maidens who were returning from the Reed Dance .