Is Bulelani Khumalo's crown dividing Zimbabwe or uniting a forgotten nation?
South African-born Bulelani Lobengula Khumalo's recent visit to Bulawayo in Zimbabwe was seen by many as a cultural homecoming.
However, not everyone shared the sentiment. Some Zimbabwean government officials lashed out after the city's mayor, David Coltart, recognised him as king of the Ndebele people.
The 41-year-old Bulelani Khumalo was born in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha) in South Africa. In September 2018, traditional leaders in Matabeleland and the Khumalo family crowned him as the new King of the Northern Ndebele nation.
The Zimbabwe local government minister, Daniel Garwe, expressed his disapproval of the Ndebele Kingdom.
He wrote a letter to Coltart stating that the country's constitution does not recognise a Ndebele Kingdom. Garwe clarified that the constitution recognises only chiefs, headmen, and village heads.
'As you may be aware, the government of Zimbabwe has over the years incessantly denounced and dissociated itself from a self-proclaimed 'King' Bulelani who illegally claims to be the legitimate heir to the now defunct throne of King Lobengula,' reads the letter.
'The ministry would like to advise you, as the mayor of the City of Bulawayo and any other functionary of the City of Bulawayo, to desist from entertaining this charlatan self-styled 'King' Bulelani, as such behaviour is not only criminal but has the negative effect of misleading the general public.'
The controversy also saw Zanu PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa critising the Bulawayo mayor for meeting Khumalo.
He stated that Coltart is part of 'a plot to create a separate Matabeleland state.'
'His Excellency President Dr ED Mnangagwa is committed to providing working capital for the people of Zimbabwe,' Mutsvangwa stated. 'But the mayor is too busy playing politics to notice the industrial revival already underway.'
Civil society group Ibhetshu LikaZulu has clarified that Khumalo's presence has nothing to do with politics. The Ibhetshu likaZulu secretary general, Mbuso Fuzwayo, said Khumalo's presence is rather a cultural and historical matter.
'Mr Mutsvangwa's statement that this meeting is part of a plot to create a separate Matabeleland state is not only malicious, but also a dangerous distortion of both historical truth and present reality,' he said.
The Office of King Bulelani Lobengula Mzilikazi, which is based in South Africa, has issued a public statement in response to Khumalo's visit.
'We respectfully urge public officials to exercise caution, decorum, and cultural sensitivity when speaking on matters of heritage and traditional leadership,' reads part of the press release.
'Dismissive language or threats of arrest directed at a traditional and cultural figure, whose mission is reconciliation, unity, and empowerment, does not reflect the spirit of Ubuntu or the values enshrined in Pan-Africanism.'
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1
Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
7 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
In this era of spyware, Parliament must codify safeguards in surveillance law
Considering the proliferation of sophisticated surveillance technologies such as spyware, South Africa has a unique opportunity to implement a meaningful surveillance safeguard that can serve as a model regionally and globally by fixing the flaws in the Rica Bill. It has been more than four years since the South African Parliament began the reform of the Regulation of Interception of Communications Act (Rica). In 2021, the Constitutional Court declared the law unconstitutional and directed additional constitutional safeguards for surveillance. The 36-month timeline set by the court has long past, and warrant applications are delayed or unprocessed, leaving South Africa vulnerable to internal and external threats. A major factor behind this delay is Parliament and the Justice Department's minimalist approach, which conflicts with the court's mandate to address fundamental constitutional problems in the Rica Bill. The original bill passed by Parliament failed to remedy all constitutional flaws, so President Cyril Ramaphosa refused to assent and referred it back to Parliament. As the DA's Werner Horn predicted in 2023, 'the idea of a future wholesale review was a way of delaying the process which was likely to take years'. Considering the proliferation of sophisticated surveillance technologies such as spyware, South Africa has a unique opportunity to implement a meaningful surveillance safeguard that can serve as a model regionally and globally by fixing the flaws in the Rica Bill. This article explains how South Africa can achieve it. Indefinite suspension of notification keeps surveillance secret and grants permanent impunity The first flaw in the Rica Bill is the weak notification system. The introduction of a mandatory notification to surveillance subjects within 90 days of warrant expiration is a positive step; however, the implementation will probably fail. It allows suspension under vague conditions, i.e. whenever a court finds notification 'has the potential to negatively impact national security' for any period the court deems appropriate. Without clear limitations, suspension will be granted in many more cases for much longer than necessary (as found by the European Court of Human Rights in Bulgaria's notification system). Such a broad notification suspension makes accountability and remedy virtually impossible. Consider the case of journalist Sam Sole, a director of the amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism, who was the plaintiff of the 2021 Constitutional Court case. Like many other targets Sole suspected he was being monitored, but lacked proof. That evidence emerged by good fortune when official intercept extracts were included in documents in another case. Sole's case is far from rare. Right2Know reports case studies where journalists only found out about the surveillance on them 'through accident, coincidence, or via a confidential source — without which it would be impossible to get any recourse'. If surveillance evidence is used in a criminal case, the subject may challenge its legality, but such cases are rare in practice. The Rica Bill does little to change the status quo, leaving the situation where, in Jacques Pauw's words, journalists 'can't do anything' with '(their) phone and emails (being) monitored'. The prospect becomes even more concerning when we consider the persistent instability the intelligence community has faced since 1994. This organisational weakness has been a root cause of surveillance abuse, notably identified by the 2018 Presidential High-Level Review Panel and the 2009 Commission of Inquiry. Yet, while the president-led reforms have led to some positive changes, they remain incomplete. International human rights law requires that people be notified of surveillance without jeopardising government interest The access to remedy is a human right. International and regional bodies consistently stress that states must provide victims of illegal surveillance access to an effective remedy (e.g. UN General Assembly, Human Rights Council, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Committee [see, recommendations to South Africa ], and African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights). The knowledge of secret surveillance is the first step in achieving a remedy. Suspension thus should be strictly limited when it is necessary and proportionate to a specific legitimate aim, and should be subject to oversight. Notably, the European Court of Human Rights (e.g. in 2024 and 2022), and the European Court of Justice repeatedly clarified that notification must be provided to the surveillance subjects as soon as it can be made without jeopardising the purpose of surveillance. However, the current Rica Bill stands in contrast. It is doubtful that, without a clear condition and upper limit on suspension, notification would be issued immediately after the threat abates. Another problem with the notification system under the Rica Bill is its silence on what should be notified. To ensure access to remedy, the notification must include sufficient information so the surveillance subject could substantiate a claim to have the legality of the surveillance reviewed by a competent body. This, at a minimum, includes details such as who sought and conducted the surveillance, why and when it was done, and what information was obtained. In the case of Sole, while he (because of unique circumstances) learned of the interception, it was not enough for accountability. The government continues to insist that the application document justifying Sole's interception 'cannot be found', leaving Sole still 'left in the dark' as to whether the intrusion was legally valid. A concern that a robust notification system may deter agencies from using interception reflects a lack of understanding among agencies. The system does allow for notification to be suspended when necessary. Training is needed to ensure agencies understand that the notification framework is designed to strike a careful balance between government interests and transparency, and it should be implemented accordingly. Advanced surveillance technologies like spyware make the importance of notification even greater for accountability New tools like spyware make surveillance more intrusive and sophisticated. Spyware enables secret access to any data on a targeted device and even the alteration of data. International human rights experts are concerned that spyware may only be justified by necessity and proportionality principles in extremely limited situations. Spyware, like Pegasus by NSO Group, has been widely abused by governments worldwide to target journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers, and politicians. In South Africa, Ramaphosa's mobile phone was targeted in 2019 by Rwanda using spyware. One of the unique challenges posed by spyware is that of documenting its actual use. Some spyware can self-delete traces of itself on the target device. Moreover, many spyware operations are conducted by private vendors, adding another layer of opacity around who is conducting the surveillance. In fact, many accountability efforts related to Pegasus stem from leaked documents. This unique level of secrecy undermines the effectiveness of accountability mechanisms across the globe. For instance, in Ireland, individuals who believe they are subject to surveillance can appeal to a complaints referee to examine the legality of interception. However, individuals are less likely to realise they are being targeted by spyware. 'One-sided' warrant application process requires safeguards to prevent authorisations based on false claims The other major defect in the Rica Bill is the lack of solutions to ex parte — or one-sided — hearings. Under Rica's existing procedures, the government applies for a warrant in an ex parte hearing with only the judge and government representative present. While the exclusion of the surveillance subject from the process is necessary to achieve the goal of interception, this is a departure from traditional adversarial hearings where the judge can hear from advocates on either side of the issue. As a result, in the Constitutional Court's words, 'blatant mendacity may be the basis of an approach to (the judges)', like the journalists of The Sunday Times, who were subject to real-time interception based on 'unadulterated lies' that they were suspected ATM bombers; and the illegal surveillance over Saki Macozoma. Such misconduct is not unique to South Africa. In the United States, the FBI fabricated an email to carry out surveillance on Trump campaign advisor Carter Page, whom the FBI suspected of having ties to the Russian government. There are probably more cases that have not surfaced due to the 'complete secrecy' surrounding surveillance practices, which the Constitutional Court identifies as a root cause of abuse in surveillance. A public advocate system would help protect South African privacy rights One solution referenced by the court and supported by researchers and civil society is the introduction of a public advocate system, which is designed to bring an adversarial element to the hearing. A security-cleared lawyer would act in the interest of the excluded party (in this case, the individual subject to surveillance). While communication with the excluded parties is prohibited, public advocates typically have access to all information held by the government, including national security information, and they can submit claims, cross-examine evidence or witnesses, and challenge legal arguments. Such a system aligns with the principle confirmed by the European Court of Human Rights that 'measures affecting fundamental human rights must be subject to some form of adversarial proceedings', 'even when national security is at stake'. At least Canada, the UK, Australia, Sweden, the US, New Zealand, Denmark, Norway and Hong Kong have introduced public advocate systems since the 1980s and improved the systems, including in the context of surveillance authorisation. Notably, these countries have either maintained their public advocate programme or expanded their application. The European Court of Human Rights recognised the public advocate system as a method to address ex parte concerns, and human rights bodies have recommended that states consider including a public advocate system in the warrant application process. Governments explicitly confirmed its effectiveness. Public advocates have demonstrated impact on outcomes. Public advocates' arguments have led courts to negate warrant applications. Existing studies based on interviews with public advocates and government agencies confirm a positive trend, with public advocates increasingly successful in raising the standard for government evidence and warrant applications. The system can improve the quality of warrant applications and help reduce the burden on judges. Parliament should consider public advocate system now The Department of Justice disfavours the public advocate system without fully understanding its effectiveness because it is a new concept in South Africa. Its reluctance is evident in its lacklustre conclusion from preliminary research on the global landscape of the system. It only scratched the surface of some literature, failing to consider the latest rules, ignoring positive trends, and saying 'each country has a very different model of a public advocate, and that this role is not necessarily enabled by state surveillance legislation'. Given the emergence of spyware, the department should conduct more in-depth research into implementation models in other countries and carry out a detailed feasibility assessment of introducing the public advocate system within South African law, particularly in sensitive cases involving press freedom or source confidentiality. The department has failed to show an alternative solution. It argues that an automatic review mechanism would remedy the one-sided warrant hearing. Under this mechanism, all warrant decisions would be reviewed by another judge immediately after the original decision was made. However, such a system is simply less effective and incurs greater costs in both time and money compared with the public advocate system. As Professor Jane Duncan, who has written and worked extensively on public oversight of security agencies, has noted the review judge is likely to 'mirror the decisions', as review judges 'will still be making decisions based on the same one-sided secret evidence'. South Africa has the opportunity to implement a meaningful safeguard to be a model regionally and globally Parliament and the State Security Agency have justified concerns about the legislative gap and the resulting damage to state security. But South Africa is uniquely situated as a state that understands the damage a 'skewed notion of national security' can cause when it is 'weaponised and calculated to subvert the dignity of the majority of South Africans'. South Africa should not miss the present opportunity. The world is watching. Many countries, in Africa and beyond, are updating their surveillance laws. As the Constitutional Court stated, 'the right to privacy is singularly important in South Africa's constitutional democracy.' The world is waiting for South Africa to demonstrate its commitment to constitutional democracy — something that is urgently needed in the current global context. DM Hinako Sugiyama is a public interest lawyer licensed in both Japan and New York, USA, specialising in issues related to surveillance, human rights, and democracy. She currently supervises the work of the International Justice Clinic at the University of California, Irvine School of Law.
The Star
7 hours ago
- The Star
We don't need American solutions -Zuma
Former South African president Jacob Zuma has issued a pointed rebuke of President Cyril Ramaphosa's recent diplomatic outreach to the United States, suggesting that foreign involvement in domestic matters undermines national sovereignty. Addressing a crowd of his uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party supporters in KwaMaphumulo over the weekend, Zuma questioned the legitimacy and wisdom of appealing to international actors, particularly the United States, for assistance with South Africa's internal challenges. 'Why must we expect strangers, sitting in Washington, to understand what we are going through?' Zuma asked during his speech. 'We know our problems better than anyone else. We should be the ones to solve them.' The comments come just weeks after President Ramaphosa led a high-profile ministerial delegation to Washington, D.C., to mend strained diplomatic ties with the Trump administration and attract investment amid growing economic pressures at home. The visit included meetings at the White House and with key business stakeholders, with the South African delegation seeking to promote technology partnerships and quell rising tensions over land reform and crime. Relations between Pretoria and Washington have recently soured over controversial remarks from US officials alleging human rights violations and accusing the South African government of mismanaging key sectors. Ramaphosa's team used the visit to push back against what they termed 'inflammatory rhetoric' and to reaffirm South Africa's commitment to democratic principles. Zuma, however, painted the outreach as a desperate move by an administration out of touch with its people. He stopped short of naming Ramaphosa directly but left little doubt about whom his remarks were aimed at. 'You can hold your meetings with Americans all you want, but we will not accept solutions from people who have never set foot in our townships,' Zuma said, to applause from the crowd. Zuma has been steadily ramping up his public appearances under the MK Party banner in recent months, positioning himself as an alternative voice to the ruling African National Congress (ANC), which he once led. His critique reflects growing frustration in parts of the electorate over the country's stagnant economy, persistent inequality, and rising crime levels. Political analysts say Zuma's remarks tap into a wider sentiment of scepticism toward foreign influence and the perceived failure of the government to address urgent local needs. 'This is classic Zuma,' said political commentator Thandi Maseko. 'He is playing to a base that feels abandoned by the current leadership and distrustful of foreign agendas.' While Ramaphosa's office has not formally responded to Zuma's comments, government officials have continued to defend the US trip as a necessary step to rebuild investor confidence and foster international cooperation. Whether Zuma's rhetoric will translate into broader support for the MK Party remains to be seen. But as the country inches closer to the next general election, his re-emergence on the national stage is once again stirring the political waters.
SowetanLIVE
9 hours ago
- SowetanLIVE
Trump Drama: South Africa came out alive
U.S. President Donald Trump meT South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. Image: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
