By Celani Sikhakhane
- King Misuzulu kaZwelithini told senior royals this week that eMbelebeleni in KwaMashu will serve urban Zulu communities again.
- Armed attackers stormed the palace in 1996, injuring Queen Buhle kaMathe and killing a princess abducted from the compound.
King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has announced the revival of the eMbelebeleni Royal Palace in KwaMashu, nearly 30 years after the royal family fled the compound following a brutal armed attack.
The King told senior royals this week that eMbelebeleni will be restored as an operational centre for Iso leSilo, the King’s official representatives who connect the monarch with Zulu communities living in urban areas of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
The palace has sat largely unused since 25 April 1996, when an armed gang stormed the compound. Queen Buhle kaMathe, the second wife of the late King Goodwill Zwelithini, was beaten and stabbed, sustaining serious head injuries. Her daughter, Princess Sibusile Zulu, was shot in the leg. The King’s cousin, Princess Nonhlanhla Zulu, was abducted during the raid. Her body was found the following morning on a nearby soccer field in KwaMashu. She had been killed.
The ANC blamed the IFP for the attack, linking it to King Zwelithini’s decision two years earlier to cut political ties with IFP leader Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi. The IFP denied involvement.
After the attack, Queen Buhle kaMathe and her family were evacuated to rural palaces in Nongoma. The King never returned to eMbelebeleni.
The palace’s long abandonment has had a practical cost. With no functioning royal residence in Durban, King Misuzulu has had to use hotels for official engagements in the city.
For KwaMashu residents, the revival carries a different meaning. The palace has stood in the township for decades as a reminder of what political violence took. The King’s announcement is the first signal in nearly 30 years that it will be something again.
Pictured above: The eMbelebeleni Royal Palace in KwaMashu, which has stood neglected for nearly 30 years.
Image source: Celani Sikhakhane
