By Celani Sikhakhane
- KwaZulu-Natal police boss General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi says he called a mass meeting to stop the killings, not to pick sides in a chieftaincy row.
- King Misuzulu kaZwelithini asked Mkhwanazi to step in after five people were killed and the Mkhwanazi clan blocked the N2 during protests.
KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has distanced himself from the traditional leadership feud that has turned deadly in Mtubatuba, Far North of KwaZulu-Natal.
Speaking at a mass meeting in Dukuduku village, where five people have already been killed, Mkhwanazi said he called the gathering to stop further violence.
“I want to make it clear that I have nothing to do with traditional leadership. Some say I called this meeting to settle leadership disputes, but that’s not true,” he said.
According to Mkhwanazi, King Misuzulu kaZwelithini asked him to intervene after the Mkhwanazi clan blocked the N2 freeway. The protest was against the appointment of Qiniso Ncube as the King’s representative (Iso leSilo). “I only called this meeting to help prevent bloodshed,” he said.
The meeting was attended by many members of the Mkhwanazi clan, led by Inkosi Ntokozo Mkhwanazi. But the Ncube clan boycotted it.
Ncube, who was appointed by King Misuzulu, said the meeting was illegitimate. “We can’t attend a meeting called by an ordinary man as if he is our King,” he said.
He added that their land, passed down by their forefathers, stretches from the St Lucia ocean to the N2. “We will fight for our land,” Ncube said.
He also claimed the process of appointing him had already started under the late King Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu.
Meanwhile, members of the Mkhwanazi clan based in Johannesburg have threatened to come home in December to fight for the land if the King does not reverse his decision.
Mkhwanazi warned that tensions could explode when people return to rural areas for the December holidays. “Our fear is that those living in hostels in Johannesburg and Durban will come back angry and cause more bloodshed,” he said.
The Mkhwanazi clan also claims the Ncube clan is planning to destroy a statue of their great-grandfather, Inkosi Mtubatuba.
Pictured above: KZN Police Commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi at the Dukuduku meeting on the Mtubatuba land dispute.
Image source: KZNCogta
