By Sandile Motha
Johannesburg – Despite their kingship claim being a subject of various logistical delays due to Covid-19 regulations, the AmaHlubi clan is adamant they have a strong case to back their quest to be accorded the monarch status in Kwa- Zulu-Natal.
The Pretoria High Court is currently seized over the matter and it has been on the court roll since 2011.
“The Covid-19 outbreak hampered our efforts to put an end to this quagmire,” Jobe Radebe, AmaHlubi spokesperson, told Sunday World.
At the heart of the court proceedings is the 2010 findings of the Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims where the AmaHlubi clan had lodged an application seeking their lost kingship to be restored.
However the commission, chaired by Professor Thandabantu Nhlapo, dismissed their application, concluding that the clan was the same as any other indigenous group living in South Africa and did not have an independent king.
The finding meant aspirant monarch Inkosi Muziwenkosi Radebe, also known as Langalibalele II, was an ordinary chief paying his allegiance to Zulu King Zwelithini kaBhekuZulu.
“It is our view as AmaHlubi that the 2010 commission findings did not take into consideration the overwhelming historical evidence about the existence of AmaHlubi kingdom. In 1878 our king, Langalibalele I, was the first freedom fighter to be imprisoned at Robben Island and our kingdom was disbanded by the British colonial government,” said Radebe.
“Should this court challenge succeed, the state will be compelled to also offer AmaHlubi royal house monetary allowance. Other clans will also approach courts demanding their own kingship and queenship status,” said Xolani Dube at the Xubera Research Institute.
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