The Sunday News
Tinomuda Chakanyuka, Senior Reporter
THE Government has warned claimant to the Ndebele Kingdom throne, Mr Stanley Raphael Khumalo, against his treasonous machinations, saying authorities will not hesitate to arrest and charge him accordingly if he crosses the line with his antics.
Mr Khumalo last week unveiled what he said was the Mthwakazi Kingdom flag which would replace the national flag in areas that “fall” under his kingdom, after his coronation on 12 September this year.
This came on the heels of yet another move that bordered on treason from the “King”, in which he wrote to President Mugabe demanding keys to the State House in Bulawayo, which he claimed was his official residence. Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Cde Obedingwa Mguni described Mr Khumalo’s plans as treasonous and an affront to Zimbabwe’s founding fathers.
“That would be treason. He will be arrested there and then, and will be charged accordingly,” declared Cde Mguni.
“What will he do with the flags if he removes them? Burn them? That’s madness. If he tampers with our flag in whatever manner we will arrest him,” added the Deputy Minister.
Mr Khumalo, who is on an ill-fated drive to revive the Mthwakazi Kingdom, said the flag would be hoisted in the Midlands Province, parts of Masvingo and the three Matabeleland region provincial areas he said all fall under his empire. He told his followers last Saturday that he would be crowned King Mzilikazi II on 12 September to mark the official restoration of the Mthwakazi Kingdom and its secession from Zimbabwe.
Cde Mguni described Mr Khumalo’s plans as wishful thinking that will never materialise in Zimbabwe. He also dismissed as baseless claims by the “king” that Mthwakazi Kingdom had, historically, never been part of Zimbabwe and there was no legal agreement binding the former to the latter.
“All of us did history and we know how Zimbabwe was founded. Which books did he read? Did he do any super special history that we don’t know about? He is dreaming. How will he withdraw from the rest of the country?”
He added, “Let me be quick to say that such things will never happen in Zimbabwe, because Zimbabwean people are one. It remains wishful thinking to try and disunite Zimbabwe.”
The Mthwakazi flag unveiled by Mr Khumalo at a disguised prayer meeting at the Bulawayo Large City Hall has the colours brown, yellow, white, black and purplish-blue, and a water mark image of Jesus Christ. Mr Khumalo explained that the brown colour represented the land, yellow stood for minerals, white was for peace and black for the black people in his “Kingdom” while the purplish-blue colour represented royalty. The water mark image of Jesus Christ, he said, resembled his Kingdom’s Christian foundations.
Until recently, Mr Khumalo had been using Tshuma as his surname, something that has raised questions over the credibility of his claim to the Khumalo bloodline. In fact, traditionalists and descendants of the Khumalo royal family have dismissed him as a fraud. His treasonous antics have also drawn annoyance from the Mthwakazi KaMzilikazi Cultural Society, an organisation that promotes Ndebele culture and is made up of members of the royal family. The society feels that Mr Khumalo is dragging the name of the royal family through the mud with his antics despite the fact that there are doubts of him being part of the Khumalos. @irielyan
