His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa remarks at the 110th commemoration of King Dinuzulu Kacetshwayo

Programme Director MEC Duma
Your Majesty, King MisuZulu ka Zwelithini,
Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Ms Nomusa Dube-Ncube,    
Ministers , Deputy Ministers and Members of Parliament,
MECs and members of the Provincial Legislature, 
Cllr Buthelezi, Mayor of Zululand District Municipality,
Inkosi R Shinga, Chairperson of the Provincial House of Traditional and Koi-San Leaders,
Amakhosi onke akhona kanye nezinduna,
Religious leaders,
Counsellors,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Hlanga lomhlabathi, kuyinjabulo enkulu kimi ukuba ngithole ithuba lokuzohlanganyela nesizwe sakho kanye nani nonke nina beSilo, sizobungaza, sihloniphe iSilo esesakhothama, inkosi uDinuzulu ka Cetshwayo, kaMpande ka Senzangakhona. 

Your Majesty, the honour is even greater in that as we commemorate and celebrate the life of King Dinuzulu, we are also celebrating 30 years of democracy and freedom in South Africa. 

It is a freedom that many including iSilo uDinuzulu fought for and greatly sacrificed for.

We are here to pay homage to Inkosi Yamakhosi, a visionary and a freedom fighter, who despite the yoke of oppression and bondage inflicted on him and his people, never wavered.

Like many before him and elsewhere who led their people in fighting against the colonial invaders, his fight was not only for one group of people, in one area. 

It was a collective struggle for freedom for all the oppressed people of South Africa, even though his battle theatre was here in KwaZulu.

iSilo uDinuzulu sazinikela ukuzabalazela inkululeko yawo wonke umuntu ompisholo eniNgizimu Afrika. 

Since the colonisers first arrived on our soil, our forebearers, the Khoi, the San, the amaXhosa, the amaZulu, AbeSotho, Batswana, BaVenda, BaShangane, ba Dzonga, BaPedi, the Xhu and the Khwe, Ama Swati all took up arms in defence of our sovereignty, in defence of the land, and in defence of our people.

Long before the founding of the African National Congress in 1912, it was traditional and indigenous leaders at the forefront of the resistance against colonialism.

In commemorating King Dinuzulu, we also remember heroes like the Khoi leader, Autshumayo, Maqoma and Hintsa from the House of Tshiwo, Siqungati and Gecelo from the Aba-Thembu, iSilo uCetshwayo, iNkosi uBhambata kaMancinza balapha KwaZulu, Mampuru and Sekhukhune from Aba-Pedi, Makhado and Tshivhase from Ama-Venda, and many others who were in the forefront of the wars of resistance. 

Traditional leaders like Dalindyebo Ngangelizwe of Aba-Thembu and Indlovukazi of the Ama-Swati, Labotsibeni Gwamile, each paid a large number of cattle to enrol their respective people into the ANC. 

iSilo uDinuzulu was also amongst abaholi bendabuko ababa nesandla neqhaza elikhulu ekusekweni kwenhlangano kaKhongolose. 

In 1912 he became a Honourary Life President of the then South African Native National Congress, the forerunner to the African National Congress – a prestigious position that he still holds in the spiritual realm. 

Kuze kube yinamhlanje, iSilo uDinuzulu ka Cetshwayo, sisahlonishwa ngesihlalo sokuba uMongameli kaKhongolose kuze kube ungunaphakade. 

King Dinuzulu was born in 1868, near the present-day town of eMpangeni, to his mother Nomvimbi oKaMsweli of the Mzimela, and his father the then Prince Cetshwayo ka Mpande.

Your Majesty, nina beSilo, to the short-sighted colonial eye, King Dinuzulu, was born an uneducated rural youth. And yet he was gifted with wisdom beyond our imagination by uMvelinqangi and the ancestors. 

Everything that we aspired to be as a people and a nation was personified in King Dinuzulu. 

He shepherded his people with wisdom and distinction. Wakhombisa obukhulu ubuhlakani nobuqhawe ekuholeni isizwe sakhe. 

He became king at the tender age of 16 years in 1884, following the passing of his father, King Cetshwayo in the same year. 

Ukukhothama kweNkosi uCetshwayo, kwaliqeda ithuba lokujabulela ukukhula abe yibhungu enze izinto ezazenziwa amabhungu. Ijoka lokuhola isizwe esasesibhekene nengcindezelo lahlala emahlombe akhe esemncane. He could not enjoy his youth like other young people. 

He summarised the weight of his struggles, when he said “My sole crime is that I am a son of Cetshwayo ... It beset me when I was a child and my father was taken by the white people, and it is still besetting me. I could not bury Cetshwayo, my father; he died while I was being chased … I did not bury my mother, OkaMsweli; she had died while I had been a prisoner … Nkosi, what is grievous is to be killed and yet alive.”

This level of sacrifice from a life so young would later become the hallmark of our struggle for freedom. Scores of young people, as epitomised by the generation of 1976, took a stand against the oppressive apartheid regime. Others joined the armed struggle. 

His Kingship’s journey was to have many ups and downs. 

The years between 1879 and 1887 were marked by intense colonial land grabs in Zululand.

The British colonial government refused to recognise him. 

He was also met with resistance from the 13 kinglets appointed by the colonial government to rule over Zululand while King Cetshwayo was in prison.

And yet, King Dinuzulu symbolised the new dawn that was beckoning for his kingdom. 

He resisted the colonial incursion into the lands of his ancestors, fighting many wars against internal factions and the colonial garrisons.

His efforts to restore the spirit of the rule of the House of Shaka landed him in prison, first in Pietermaritzburg, and then on the island of St Helena between 1888 and 1898. 

While in prison iSilo uDinuzulu could not be broken by his captors. 

Ijele alizange lisibulale siphila iSilo, okwenzeka, ukuthi sazalwa kabusha ejele, sazicija sizilungiselela ukuqhubeka nokulwela inkululeko yabantu abampisholo. 

Prison steeled King Dinuzulu’s resolve and deepened his warrior spirit.

He knew too well that beyond the prison walls, the world was rapidly changing. Those out to destroy his Kingdom and displace his people from their own land were continuing with their efforts.

He committed to the Christian faith and became a prayer warrior in the process.

King Dinuzulu embraced education, something that would go on to have a big impact on the Zulu Royal Household. His children, including Princess Magogo and her brother King Solomon, were all sent to school. 

He became deeply involved in the arts. 

Earlier in his life he had been a prolific composer of Amahubo esiZulu. On St Helena he played the piano and the organ, and developed a love for church hymns that he sang in isiZulu and English. 

This love for music led to the spread of choral music and other transitional styles like isicathamiya, maskandi and others which are unique to the Zulu Kingdom.

Hlanga lomhlabathi, nina beSilo. 

Over 30 years of our democracy and freedom. we have been working to defeat the legacies of colonialism and apartheid, and to break intergenerational poverty by expanding access to quality education. 

In the 1950s and 1960s, only 10 per cent of black South Africans completed 12 years of education. That number today is more than 60 per cent.

In South Africa today, access to quality education is breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty, infusing young people with academic knowledge, and growing the future citizens and leaders of South Africa. 

The pro-poor policies of this government, led by the African National Congress, continue to support learners along their education journey. 

This includes millions of learners getting a nutritious meal at school each day to support their development, Early Childhood Development, no-fee schools, free school transport and child care grants.

King Dinuzulu would be proud of us.

The arts that King Dinuzulu was exposed to in prison are available in our schools:  musical instruments, singing, drama, and others.

Yize usemuningi umsebenzi okumele siqhubeke nawo kodwa iSilo uDinuzulu singaziqhenya kakhulu ngokiningi esikwenzile ngokuthuthukisa izinga lemfundo kubantu abampisholo, kanye nokuthuthukisa izinga lezimpilo zabantu bakithi abampisholo kwiNingizimu Afrika yonkana. 

Sizwe sikaPhunga noMageba

On this auspicious occasion, we cannot but reflect on the qualities of leadership embodied by King Dinuzulu. 

The King did not fight battles of greed and unchecked power for selfish gain. 

He did not ascend to the throne to enrich himself and ignore the plight of his people.

Uma sithi sifuna intsha ihole, asithi kumele ijahe ubukhazikhazi bempilo, obifika ngokushesha. Sithi intsha mayihole kodwa igxile futhi ijule ekusebenzeleni umphakathi, izikhathaze ngokuthi izidingo zomphakathi zethulwe ngendlela efanele. Yiso lesi isibonelo esisicosha kwiSilo uDinuzulu. 

His wars were all wars for peace and restoration of the dignity of the Zulu Kingdom and its people. 

He supported the Bhambatha Rebellion, led by Bhambatha ka Mancinza in 1906, which earned him another prison sentence.

King Dinuzulu did not see the struggle for the freedom of the Zulu nation as separate from the struggle for freedom of all South Africans. 

In his political liberation journey, he embraced all those who were like-minded, and collaborated with players from diverse backgrounds became his signature. 

King Dinuzulu was a non-racialist in his approach to life.

One of the King’s great friends was Harriette Colenso, the eldest daughter of the Bishop of Natal, John Colenso. 

When he was exiled to St Helena in the 1800s, he arrived with an entourage of 20. Amongst them were his two wives, his two uncles, including Shingana, a doctor, translator and advisers, and Harriette Colenso’s sister, Frances. 

King Dinuzulu forged relations with the Boers of the New Republic in Vryheid. It was as a result of this relationship that when the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, General Louis Botha released King Dinuzulu from prison in Newcastle. 

He also forged relationships with some Indian community leaders around Durban. When the King passed away in Uitkyk on the 18th of October 1913, one of the people at his bedside was the young Mahatma Gandhi. 

Ubumbano lwezizwe ngezizwe ezahlukene lwalubaluleke kakhulu kwiSilo uDinuzulu. Kumele nathi sonke abaholi bezikhunga nezigaba ezehlukene sizibophele kumanyano lwezizwe zonke zaseNingizimu Afrika ukuze sakhe izwe elinentuthuko noxolo. 

As the lifelong President of the ANC, King Dinuzulu taught us well. We will never abandon our commitment to the principles of non-racialism and in realising a South Africa that is truly non-racial, non-sexist, prosperous and free.

King Dinuzulu was a man of great humility, despite his stature.

Despite being a King, he surrounded himself with wise counsel. 

He was close friends with Dr John Langalibalele Dube, Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme, his son in law, Walter Rubusana, as well as with other liberation struggle luminaries. They collaborated to defend our sovereignty and dignity.

Likhulu iqhaza elabanjwa aMakhosi endabuko emzabalazweni wenkululeko yaseNingizimu Afrika, ngeke silikhohlwe leloqhaza. Yingakho sisebenze kakhulu futhi sisaqhubeka ukuqinisekisa ukuthi uhulumeni uyaqhubeka nobhekela izidingo nokuphepha kwaMakhosi.

It was this cooperation between traditional leaders and the educated ones – izifundiswa – which led to the formation of the African National Congress in Bloemfontein in January 1912.

The King subjected himself to the collective leadership of the time. 

He led and accepted being led for the benefit of his people. 

Zulu kaMalandela, 

Today, society is burdened by leaders who refuse to be led. 

They use their past and current leadership roles to sow division, fear and hate. 

They threaten violence and mayhem against the democratic state and its laws. 

Let me be clear, as I have been. This we will not allow. 

We will follow in the footsteps of King Dinuzulu and forge ahead with unifying our nation. 

We must and we will resist and defeat the merchants of destruction that are in our midst, just as King Dinuzulu did.

Labo abasabisa ngoku phehla udweshu emphakathini nasembusweni wentando yeningi sizobhekana nabo ngqo! Ngiyabaxwayisa, ngithi sinibhekile, sizonibopha, ngeke sivume ukuchitheka kwegazi, selichitheke kakhulu igazi kulelizwe. Ngakhoke iNingizimu Afrika ayinayo indawo yophakimpi. 

Nina BeSilo,

On this the 110th anniversary commemoration of one of our greatest forebearers, we must ensure that the story of this son of the African soil is not lost in the annals of history, but that it continues to be told by generations to come. 

As government departments, provinces and municipalities, we continue to embrace our cultural heritage and liberation history. 

Liberation tourism has a key role to play in developing the economy of the province and the country as a whole. We call on the private sector to be part of this endeavour aimed at preserving the story of our liberation. 

It is important that these events and activities be translated into sustainable socio-economic endeavours aimed at job creation in the related sectors.

It will also be important that our academics and intellectuals are engaged in the documentation of our history.

For us to know where we are going, we have to know where we come from as a people. Ukuze sazi ukuthi siyaphi kubalulekile sazi ukuthi sivelaphi. 

With the foundation laid by forebearers such as King Dinuzulu, we shall overcome poverty, inequality, unemployment and underdevelopment. 

We are mindful that the struggle for liberation was waged by those who were robbed of enjoying their own youth, as was the case with Inkosi uDinuzulu. 

We shall not fail to make them proud. We shall ensure that their struggle and sacrifice was not in vain. We shall ensure that we leave no-one behind.

I thank you.