Durban – Much-loved former commander of the AmaZulu regiments (amabutho) Zihogo Zelanga Maguzumela Mlandeni Nhleko, better known as Mgilija, spent the last days of his life a broken man.
According to izinduna (traditional headmen) who were close to him and fell under his command, the source of anguish for Mgilija was the departure of AmaZulu King Zwelithini kaBhekuZulu seven months ago – and being stripped of his position in the royal house was the straw that finally broke the camel’s back.
Mgilija, 72, succumbed to unknown complications on Monday night at a Richards Bay hospital, northern KwaZulu-Natal, where he was being treated.
He was laid to rest at his ancestral village of eHlalangwenya, a few kilometres from KwaNongoma.
Induna Bhekokwakhe Ndwandwe of oSuthu traditional council in KwaNongoma, who served under Mgilija for more than 15 years, said his departed close confidant was more than a commander of amabutho, but he provided direction on matters of culture and how older men ought to raise strong families underpinned by cultural values.
“He was a principled man and a staunch traditionalist at heart and never wavered. He understood his role within the AmaZulu nation and the mammoth responsibility it carried. When he was stripped of his position, it killed him slowly inside. He lamented that he was treated like an outcast,” said Ndwandwe.
He said that as a man who had sacrificed and dedicated his entire adult life in serving the monarch, he couldn’t come to terms with the decision taken by the AmaZulu royal house to chuck him out of his position as the commander of amabutho.
“Before he fell ill, he tried on numerous occasions to meet with the reigning King Misu-Zulu to apologise, his apology was never accepted.”
Mgilija received unexpected popularity and public admiration when he led throngs of Amabutho to collect the mortal remains of the late AmaZulu king, who passed on at Durban’s Chief Albert Luthuli Hospital in March.
In keeping with AmaZulu tradition and cultural beliefs, amabutho had to travel about 300km from the king’s royal palace of KwaKhethomthandayo in KwaNongoma, in northern KwaZulu-Natal to Durban.
He, however, caught the wrath of the royal house after he declared solidarity with former president Jacob Zuma.
When the clock was ticking for Zuma to hand himself to prison authorities to begin serving his 15 months sentence for contempt of court, Mgilija led a legion of amabutho to KwaDakwadunuse in Nkandla to offer their support.
The royal house came out guns blazing, saying this was an act of defiance, tantamount to treason. He was subsequently stripped of the position he had occupied for over three decades.
Another induna Muziwendoda Mathaba of the KwaMzimela traditional authority in Mthunzini said Mgilija had not been the same since the passing of the AmaZulu monarch.
“I would say that uMdlokombane [a reference to Zwelithini] took his spirit with him. It was for the first time that I saw him failing to hold his tears when he heard the news that the king was no more. The stripping of his position made
matters worse,” said Mathaba.
Understanding that people continuously called him Mgilija instead of Mgilitsha, a reference to the Nhleko clan name, he accepted without reservation and the name became popular.
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