SA Kings Meet Mnangagwa, But Zimbabwe’s Khumalos Say They’re Out of Loop
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s royal Khumalo family says it was not consulted about AmaZulu King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini and Western Pondoland King Ndamase Ndamase’s meeting with President Emmerson Mnangagwa, and it does not know the agenda of the visit.
King Ndamase, leader of AmaMpondo aseNyandeni in the Eastern Cape, wrote to South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, on July 3 to inform him of the planned trip to Zimbabwe. Lamola’s spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri, confirmed the department had received the correspondence.
“We have received the correspondence and will engage the traditional leadership on their proposal,” Phiri told reporters.
Ndamase said the decision to visit Zimbabwe followed a high-level meeting on June 27, when South African President Cyril Ramaphosa met traditional leaders to discuss rising anti-immigrant sentiment and the government’s response.
But the Khumalo royal house, which traces its lineage to King Mzilikazi who founded the Ndebele state in the 19th century, said it was kept in the dark. “We are hearing that isilo [King Misuzulu] is in Zimbabwe but we were not briefed on the agenda and we believe it is political because he is meeting the country’s head of state, therefore, I cannot comment any further,” Prince Zwidekalanga Khumalo told Mopane News.
The Khumalos are direct descendants of the Ndebele monarchy. King Mzilikazi, a former general under Shaka Zulu, broke away and led his people north in the 1820s, eventually settling in present-day Matabeleland.
The Khumalo house remains a key cultural institution in western Zimbabwe, though the monarchy holds no formal constitutional role.King Misuzulu ascended the AmaZulu throne in 2021 after the death of his father, King Goodwill Zwelithini.
He presides over South Africa’s largest traditional monarchy, with significant cultural influence in KwaZulu-Natal.
King Ndamase Ndamase leads AmaMpondo aseNyandeni, one of the traditional authorities in the Eastern Cape.
The visit comes amid strained relations between Pretoria and Harare over migration.
South Africa hosts an estimated one to three million Zimbabweans, many undocumented, and anti-immigrant sentiment has flared in recent years.
Operation Dudula and other groups have staged protests targeting foreign nationals, while the South African government has ended the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit, pushing thousands to regularize their status or face deportation.
Traditional leaders in South Africa have increasingly weighed in on immigration, with some calling for tighter controls and others urging tolerance.
The June 27 meeting with Ramaphosa was convened to address those tensions.Neither the Zimbabwean presidency nor the South African traditional leaders’ delegation had released an agenda for the talks with Mnangagwa at the time of publication.
It was not clear whether the Khumalo royal family would be invited to any engagements during the visit.
Diplomatic protocol generally requires South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation to coordinate official visits abroad by public figures, including traditional leaders, when meetings with foreign heads of state are planned.