Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has called for action to be taken to stop the killing of traditional leaders in KwaZulu-Natal.
Several amakhosi and izinduna (traditional leaders) have been killed over the past year.
Eyewitness News quoted the Zulu monarch as saying that action needed to be taken to stop the killings. He said:
The killing of amakhosi and izinduna is worrying me. I spoke with the chiefs themselves that as the House of Traditional Leaders we need to attend to this issue on our own, with the help from the government and the police, to protect traditional leaders.
In March this year, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube said the killings of traditional leaders were an attack on the state as they threatened to disrupt an institution that is critical to the stability and order of society.
Dube-Ncube was speaking during a media briefing on pertinent issues that affect traditional leaders (amakhosi and izinduna) in the province.
She said that during a meeting with the South African Police Service in January 2022, it emerged that officers were investigating 51 murder cases dating back to 2012.
Dube-Ncube added that among the possible motives behind the killings of traditional leaders had been the struggle for chieftaincy, land disputes, family disputes, and taxi-related disputes.
In February 2023, King Misuzulu kaZwelithini called for an urgent meeting with the government and police to address the killing of traditional leaders in KwaZulu-Natal.
The call came after Inkosi Sibonelo Aubrey Ngcobo of the KwaNyavu clan survived an assassination attempt while two of his family members died in the attack.
Also in March this year, Otto Kunene, the IFP’s spokesperson for cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) said more than 40 traditional leaders have been killed in the past decade.
More: Pindula News