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20 June 2004

BACKGROUND

King Dinuzulu, ka Cetshwayo, ka Mpande took over as a Zulu King in 1884 after his father’s death, at the time when the Zulu Kingdom had been a defeated nation after the Anglo–Zulu War of 1879. He took over when the Kingdom had been divided into 13 smaller chiefdoms.

This was also the time when the results of British imperialism and colonialism were beginning to be felt all over Africa and particularly in Southern Africa. All the mighty kingdoms had been defeated and subjected to British foreign rule. African people could no longer rule themselves according to their own traditional and customary laws.

This was also the time when South Africa as a country was undergoing rapid industrialisation since the discovery of gold and diamonds in Johannesburg and Kimberley respectively. White people wanted to drive African people away from subsistence farming which provided their means of livelihood, so that they would be forced to go and work in the mines.

KING DINUZULU AND POLITICS

The period when King Dinuzulu took over can be characterised as very volatile indeed. During his reign, King Dinuzulu was twice unjustly sent to jail by the forces of colonialism. The first time he was sentenced to ten (10) years imprisonment to St Helena Island of which he only served eight (8) years.

The second time was after the Bambata Rebellion which took place in 1906, he was arrested and charged with treason in 1909 and sentenced to a four (4) year prison term. He served only one (1) year of his prison sentence because of the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910. General Louis Botha released him from prison only to send him to exile in a farm in the Transvaal where he spent the last three years of his life.

King Dinuzulu supported the Bambata Rebellion of 1906 as led by Chief Bambata ka Mancinza of the Zondi clan. He allowed Bambata to work among his people to mobilise them in opposition to the poll tax, because he was against it himself, this he did at great risk for his personal safety and well being. For his support of the Bambata Rebellion he was sent to prison and exile.

King Dinuzulu is an important king in the struggle of our people against colonialism and imperialism. He was the first Zulu King who lived in two important historical moments of our struggle. He lived during the period when the last armed struggle or resistance was launched by our people against the imperialist forces, and he also lived at the time when our people launched new forms of struggle in the country. These were two very crucial milestones of our struggle.

The hardships and suffering that King Dinuzulu went through for his people did not go unnoticed by the first liberation movement in Africa, the African National Congress. It was because of his opposition to white rule and his principled stand against colonialism that the ANC when it was formed in 1912 made him a patron of the organisation, together with other traditional leaders of Southern Africa, like King Sobhuza and Moshoeshoe. The ANC respected the institutions of African traditional leadership as it continues to do so even today. King Dinuzulu supported the ANC and the ANC supported him.

King Dinuzulu will always be remembered by our people as one of the kings who never sold their own people for his personal comforts. He stood against colonialism and imperialism to the end, and paid many sacrifices for the liberation of his people.

He will thus be remembered as one of the most courageous and principled kings to have ruled in our land, who fought injustice and was truly loved by his people, and his name ranks high as a heroic leader and unifier of our nation. His sacrifices and suffering contributed to the birth of a new democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa that we have today.

Issued by: The Presidency
20 June 2004