In this fourth instalment celebrating the legacy of legendary amaHlubi King Langalibalele and the injustice visited upon his people – Fidel Hadebe argues that the treatment of the current monarch as a junior to another king is the continuation of an injustice that was done by the colonial government in 1873.
The past three segments of this series into Isilo SamaHlubi looked into how the colonial government in Natal planted the seeds for what they thought was going to be the destruction of amaHlubi nation and their kingdom by pursuing Langalibalele I until his death in 1889.
Because it was determined to destroy amaHlubi and their kingdom, the colonial government did not allow Langalibalele’s successor to be appointed until July 1897 when his son, Siyephu succeeded him after an eight-year vacuum. At the time of his demise (ukwebuza) Langalibalele was still a prisoner following his conviction for treason in 1874 and subsequent incarceration on Robben Island.
He was allowed to return to Natal only in 1887 where he continued to serve his sentence under house arrest in Swartzkop (Pietermaritzburg) with Inkosi Tetelegu as his warden. It is important to remember that Tetelegu was one of the amakhosi loyal to the colonial government and was rewarded for his loyalty by being made an assessor during Langalibalele’s trial and conviction in 1874.
As we know now, the trial was a judicial sham and colonial scandal for which the British government apologised only in 2004. The brutality of the colonial government against Langalibalele and his people including amaNgwe during the period 1873-1874 had far-reaching consequences on amaHlubi as it disorganised the institutional structure of the kingdom and scattered the nation.
The upside to this devastation however is that contrary to the strategy of elimination, amaHlubi and their kingdom simply spread across South Africa and other countries in the region leading to the multiplication of the kingdom and its people as we see now.
The kingdom of amaHlubi has a much wider geographic footprint that includes the incorrectly named KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, North-West, Mpumalanga, Western Cape and Limpopo provinces of South Africa as well as in countries such as Lesotho and Zimbabwe. What this points to is that what the colonial government of Natal and its masters in the United Kingdom sought to do during the reign of Queen Vitoria which was to destroy the amaHlubi kingdom, did not succeed but instead delivered the exact opposite of what the Crown in London had intended.
Unlike other ethnic groups which are mono-lingual (defined by one language only) amaHlubi are a multi-lingual and diverse ethnic group which makes them numerically bigger than most if not all ethnic groups in South Africa. Because of what the colonialists did in 1873 with the harassment, arrest and dethronement of their king amaHlubi found themselves located within or under other ethnic groups, especially in places such as KwaZulu-Natal and thus denying them of their true cultural identity which is something the democratic government has not resolved despite pleas to do so from amaHlubi people and their king.
The current king of amaHlubi Inkosi Langalibalele II continues to be treated as a mere inkosi who is a junior to other kings despite having about 30 senior amakhosi under him. The important question to ask during this time as we mark the 30th anniversary of our democracy as a new country following the 1994 breakthrough is the following: what is the state of the Kingdom of amaHlubi and its nation?
Thirdly, there exists internally within our democracy institutions that seek to create a balance between the state and its several institutional arms (parliament, judiciary and executive) as well as institutions of traditional leadership that compete for authority over citizens and land. This is one of the biggest challenges facing the amaHlubi kingdom which the Nhlapo Commission dismally failed to resolve thus endorsing a colonial project to distort history and disorganize the amaHlubi kingdom and therefore validating what the colonial government initiated when it pursued Langalibalele, banishing him, destroying his kingdom, land and cattle belonging to amaHlubi being looted and his people scattered.
As stated in one of the previous parts of this series on Langalibalele, in 1873 already the colonial authorities passed a Proclamation that ended the existence of the amaHlubi nation and its kingdom. Coming back to the question of what the state of the nation of amaHlubi and their kingdom is it is important to take note of the following important points about amaHlubi and their kingdom. amaHlubi and their kingdom are the oldest in South-East Africa going back several centuries. In the 1600s already, amaHlubi were an established kingdom in the Mzinyathi area and by the time Langalibalele became king in the 1800s was already an established kingdom.
The immediate challenges facing amaHlubi and their kingdom include the recognition of current monarch Muziwenkosi ka Tatazela Ka Siyephu ka Langalibalele whose official title is Langalibalele II, as a king in his own right. He is being recognised as such by other kingdoms not only in South Africa but in neighbouring countries as well.
The treatment of the amaHlubi king as a junior to another king is the continuation of an injustice that was done by the colonial government in 1873, and, sadly, this injustice has been allowed to continue for 30 years after our democracy in 1994. What have amaHlubi done to deserve this injustice when the history of colonialism and its devastating effects on traditional leadership is so well documented in South Africa?
The current administration also needs to correct the injustice created by the colonial government when dethroning Langalibalele I and appointing Headmen or iziNduna to be amakhosi over amaHlubi people in their land. This can be seen in Estcourt and Umzinyathi district (Dundee, Newcastle and Ladysmith).
As has been argued in previous instalments of this series focusing on Langalibalele the 1873 campaign by the Natal colonial government had far-reaching consequences on amaHlubi and their kingdom. Langalibalele was a threat and an obstacle to the colonial government in its quest to take over the land of the amaHlubi people, disrupt their economic independence and subject them to a life of dependency on white people. One of the things that amaHlubi are known for is their deep sense of independence, love for agriculture and ability to produce wealth for themselves.
This unfortunately proved to be a threat to the colonial government and a ruthless plan was unleashed by the colonialist to get rid of this economic threat in their backyard. As historian Andrew Manson sums it in his 1979 paper on amaHlubi people:
“The inability of white farmers to compete successfully with their African neighbours in the production of foodstuffs gave rise to frequent jealousy and resentment. This was particularly so in the Weenen district where the wealth of the Hlubi was well known.”
Langalibalele was an economic threat to the colonial government and its people in Natal and it was important to get rid of him, law and military action were the two avenues available to deliver this outcome.
Bhungane!
Hadebe writes in his personal capacity as a private citizen, iHlubi and proud South African
