By Celani Sikhakhane
- Princess Gcwalisile, a Zulu royal and holder of a doctorate from the University of Toronto, ran food and skills programmes for poor families in Mbekweni, Paarl.
- King Misuzulu kaZwelithini’s spokesperson says the King is heartbroken, calling her a walking archive of the Zulu Nation.
Princess Gcwalisile kaGideon Layukhona Zulu-Kabanyane was a Zulu royal princess, a doctor of education, and a woman who spent years growing food gardens for child-headed families in a Paarl township. She died on Monday morning at her home in Paarl, Western Cape. She was 3 years into a battle with cervical cancer.
Her son, Prince Siboniso Zulu, told Scrolla.Africa she passed away peacefully.
“She died this morning peacefully at her home in Paarl. She had been suffering with cancer for three years till she passed away this morning on Monday,” he said.
Princess Gcwalisile was the aunt of King Misuzulu kaZwelithini and the daughter of the late Prince Gideon Zulu, to whom she was known to be very close. She was married to the late Dr Sidima Kabanyane, a former municipal manager of the Drakenstein Municipality in the Western Cape.
She held a doctoral degree in education from the University of Toronto, Canada, and founded the Qolothani Makhosikazi Social and Cultural Services. In 2001, she started a programme to educate young men on protecting their communities, women and children. She also ran school gardening projects, food security support for child-headed families, and women’s skills development in Mbekweni, Paarl.
In 2011, she received the Inyathelo Award for Community Philanthropy for that work.
She was also known in royal circles for starting a grooming programme for young Zulu boys, linked to the revival of the Reed Dance for girls.
King Misuzulu kaZwelithini’s spokesperson, Prince Thulani Zulu of eZibindini, said the King is devastated.
“The King is heartbroken because this is his own aunt who was a walking archive of the Zulu Nation. What broke the King’s heart is that the death of Princess Gcwalisile comes after we have lost several royal family members,” he said.
She is survived by five children and six grandchildren.
Pictured above: Princess Gcwalisile kaGedion Layukhona Zulu-Kabanyane, aunt of King Misuzulu kaZwelithini, passed away from womb cancer on Monday.
Image source: Supplied
