Chronicle EditorVusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor
THE public has been urged to ignore moves by one of the self-appointed heirs to the Ndebele kingdom, Mr Stanley Raphael Tshuma Khumalo who has claimed that he is going to take over Bulawayo’s State House in what he says is a bid to revive the kingdom.
A voice note purportedly from Mr Tshuma-Khumalo has been doing the rounds where he claims that he will lead “his” people from South Africa to occupy the State House.
In the message Mr Tshuma-Khumalo claims to be a commander in chief, referring himself as King Mzilikazi II.
“I will be leaving South Africa on 28 May (yesterday) coming home.
I will arrive in Bulawayo on 29 May in the morning.
Therefore, as the commander in chief I call upon the entire nation to come meet me their king,” he said.
The self-proclaimed King Mzilikazi II claims to have informed President Mnangagwa and the government of his intentions.
However, President Mnangagwa has previously reiterated that the Zimbabwe will remain a unitary state and no amount of effort from the country’s detractors or those calling for a separate State will divide the country.
Mr Tshuma-Khumalo’s claims have been dismissed by other claimants to the Ndebele kingdom, accusing him of causing confusion and trying to fool the nation.
In a statement, Mr Bulelani Khumalo who also claims to be an heir to the throne, called on people not to give in to unnecessary moves to cause confusion.
“We are aware of the ongoing confusion and we understand that at the end of May, people are supposed to be going home. As the office of the King Bulelani kaLobengula kaMzilikazi, we say there’s nothing like that.
Don’t allow yourselves to be pushed into deep holes and be fooled by Stanley Raphael Khumalo, who calls himself King Mzilikazi II,” reads the statement.
Prince Peter Zwide Khumalo, said the move by Mr Tshuma-Khumalo was a personal and isolated ploy which did not have the endorsement of the Khumalo family.
“As the Khumalo family we have nothing to do with what this Stanley is doing.
When you look at it, it has a lot of political overtones and for us when we talk of the revival of the Ndebele Kingdom we are talking of the cultural side of things.
When we are talking about a kingdom, we are not talking of geographical boundaries but we are all inclusive where we are saying one can be from Mutare, Nyanga or Masvingo but paying allegiance to the kingdom.”
Online Reporter