A modern-day Hintsa to amaXhosa
● King Zwelonke Sigcawu has laid down his pipe, but would have brimmed with satisfaction and a feeling of freedom if the British had apologised for the gruesome murder of the legendary King Hintsa and the seizure of land and cattle.
The son of King Xolilizwe Sigcawu had hoped that a brief encounter with Britain’s Prince Charles at Nelson Mandela’s funeral was a signal of things to come.
The Xhosa monarch’s request was for the British to apologise for their oppression and past atrocities.
He walked in the footsteps of his father, King Xolilizwe, shining the beacon on his projects
The King Hintsa Bravery Awards and the annual memorial lecture were inaugurated by Xolilizwe to commemorate the killing and beheading of Hintsa by the British colonialists on May 12 1835 near the banks of Nqabara River in Willowvale.
The highlights of the King Hintsa awards was when they honoured ousted Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe in 2011, former president Jacob Zuma in 2012 and US civil rights leader Jesse Jackson in 2015. In 2016, the king paid a state visit to Palestine and presented President
Mahmoud Abbas with the same honour.
King Zwelonke also served as patron-inchief of the Mkiva Humanitarian Awards. He officiated when numerous luminaries were honoured. Among them were Nelson Mandela, Hugo Chavez, Jerry Rawlings, former AU secretary-general Salim Ahmed Salim, Palestine cabinet minister Saeb Erekat, Queen Best Kemigisa of Uganda, Chinese poet and provincial governor Jidi Majia, human rights activist Laura Mpahlwa and boxing trainer Mzimasi Mnguni.
He was an active member of the Congress of Traditional Leaders and a founding member of the Kings, Sultans, Sheikhs, Princes and Chiefs of Africa in 2007 in Benghazi, Libya.
He was part of the initiative of the Institute of African Royalty, which was established in Johannesburg in 2009, a member of the House of Traditional Leaders and chairman of the Phalo Trust.
He worked closely with Patrice Motsepe on rural development.
King Zwelonke’s coronation was held on May 15 2015. That year marked the 180th anniversary of the death of Hintsa.
Zuma conferred the certification of his kingship during this ceremony, marking the end of two kingdoms, and the Xhosa nation becoming one.
He sought to bolster the relevance of the amaXhosa, visiting his communities across the country every year to talk with them and encourage the youth to empower themselves through education.
The king visited Xhosa people in Zimbabwe and Zambia. At times he deployed royals to visit Xhosa communities in Botswana and Malawi.
His early life was not an easy one. He was addicted to alcohol, but the Xhosa royal house rallied to support him and coaxed him away from the tears of Victoria, as alcohol is referred to in that part of the world.
At a young age he was whisked away to Cofimvaba, not far from the Great Place of King Sarhili, for grooming and safety because his father had running skirmishes with the authorities of the former Transkei homeland.
He grew up under the stewardship and tutelage of Nkosi Jongintaba Ngubo, his uncle and resident of Hohita village, otherwise also known as the St Marks area.
His life there was similar to many other rural children — enrolled at a public school, herding cattle, stick fighting. His friends from Jongilizwe High School and Freemantle High School in Lady Frere, just outside Queenstown, speak fondly of him.
When he came of age, he passed through the Xhosa rite of passage and graduated from the university of wisdom.
Jongintaba took the responsibility of preparing him for a leadership role.
King Zwelonke leaves an enduring legacy of promoting education and cultural heritage, agriculture, and rebuilding the unity of the amaXhosa.
The jailing of AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo troubled him. He was not only worried about the welfare of the monarch, but also that a king could dwell among inmates.
He had a glimmer of hope that President Cyril Ramaphosa would release King Dalindyebo.
King Zwelonke was elated by the promise of the provincial department of roads to spend R1.7bn tarring a 52km stretch of gravel road between Willowvale and Dwesa Nature Reserve. He was at the forefront of lobbying the government to tar rural roads to spur economic growth.
The monarch had many ideas to improve the lives of his people before he died.
His father ruled for more than four decades, but his reign was shortlived.
In the other world, he joins the celestial Tshawe dynasty and will take his place once all the protocol and cultural rituals have been performed to reunite him with the departed.
For King Zwelonke, the spirit of King Hintsa lived in him. From an early age, the legendary Hintsa was inculcated in his imagination as an icon of resilience. The one who takes after King Zwelonke will have his work cut out.