adminPrince Khumalo drew the ire of chiefs after he said the traditional leaders were like “stooges who lacked the true nature of personhood”.
Prince Khumalo made the remarks in his address to civic society organisations on Tuesday during a 2011 national traditional leaders conference review. He said a majority of chiefs were hopeless drunkards.
Recently, Bulawayo played host to the annual chiefs’ conference.
Prince Khumalo said chiefs had been turned into beggars for their livelihood and “have however been involuntarily forced through patronage to forsake their cultural roles”.
Prince Khumalo said the just-ended annual chiefs’ conference fostered an “excellent foundation for a disorderly” society in Zimbabwe.
He also said their requests for guns and bodyguards were merely preparing them to participate in potential election violence.
“Most of them get hopelessly drunk in public and what worse can happen if they are given guns?” said Prince Khumalo.
Responding to the remarks by Prince Khumalo, vice-president of the chiefs’ council Chief Mtshana Khumalo, a descendant of the commander of the crack Lobengula regiment, Imbizo, said it was sad that Prince Khumalo was fond of meddling in matters that did not concern him.
“What does he know? He doesn’t know that all chiefs have guns that they inherited from their predecessors.
“If we want guns, there is no need for us to apply for the guns through the Government because those will be for personal protection. In any case those guns are not for shooting people, but can assist villagers in the event that there are wild animals troubling them,” said Chief Khumalo.
He said Prince Khumalo should mind his business of canvassing for being a king and stop insulting chiefs.
“What he should have asked in that meeting (2011 national traditional leaders conference review) is whether people want him to be their king instead of dragging chiefs into politics,” said Chief Khumalo.
Online Reporter