Zulu King leaves behind six wives and 28 children | Stan Huygens Journal

The monarch, also known as King Goodwill, was a direct descendant of Shaka Zulu (1787-1828), the legendary founder of the Zulu Empire. Goodwill was one of the ten kings maintained by the South African government. He not only left his mark on the Zulu homeland of KwaZulu Natal, but on the development of all of South Africa.

Own culture

He revived old Zulu customs, which allowed his tribe to maintain its own culture. One of the newfound traditions is the Reed Dance, where thousands of virgin Zulu girls presented themselves to the king. He used the mass rallies to campaign about the dangers of HIV infection. Moreover, he was left with several brides. He also understood that by tradition.

“Not all solutions come from politicians and experts. Traditional leadership is a mainstay of the African continent and cannot be discarded, ”he argued. He would have liked more say as king. On this he came to stand with his uncle Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the South African foreign minister, diametrically opposed to President Nelson Mandela’s ANC. Finally, after years of bloodshed among the supporters of both sides at the cost of thousands of deaths, the Zulu king helped bring everyone back together. For although he only had ceremonial duties, his influence extended much further. If only because the 11 million Zulus are the largest population group in South Africa. They make up one fifth of the total population.

Contribution

“A much-loved visionary,” current South African president Cyril Ramaphosa describes the late king. “He made an important contribution to the cultural identity, national unity and economic development in KwaZulu Natal and thus to the development of our entire country.”

At the same time, the king was not averse to plain language criticism of the national government and controversial, inflammatory statements. He described homosexuals as ‘depraved ones’. And a few years ago he called on migrants from outside South Africa to especially pack their bags. It led to manhunts for foreigners, who fled the country in their thousands. He soon expressed his regret in another speech: “I call for the protection of everyone of foreign descent.” But the damage had already been done.

He would have liked an extra grant from the government to give his sixth wife a palace of her own.

He was no longer allowed to experience it. It is not yet clear who will succeed him, now that Crown Prince Lethukuthula Zulu was murdered in Johannesburg a few months ago, after a night of sex and drugs.

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