Xhosa king demands to be treated like (Zulu) royalty

King Zwelonke Sigcawu wants all South Africa's monarchs to be paid the same as Zulu King Zwelithini.

The recently crowned Xhosa king and his advisers believe that the government should "close the gap" between what it spends on the Zulu monarch and the salaries paid to the other six kings in the country.

On average, kings are each paid about R1-million a year - but, thanks to a special dispensation entered into during the transition to democracy in 1994, King Zwelithini earns much more.

In 2013, he was allocated R51.3-million for the upkeep of his royal household plus a further R12-million to refurbish his palaces.

In an interview at his palace in Nqadu, Willowvale, in the Eastern Cape on Friday, King Zwelonke and his advisers said it was time the rest of the monarchs enjoyed the same benefits as the Zulu king.

"We like the way the Zulu king is treated," said Prince Xhanti Sigcawu, one of the advisers. "We think it is great. What the government is not doing is to extend that kind of treatment to other kings. We want the government to close the gap by extending the benefits to the other kings."

South Africa has seven kingdoms: Xhosa, Zulu, Ndebele, Pedi, Venda, Pondo and Thembu.

"There is no king among the seven who is above the others," the prince said. "Let us treat them the same."

Another adviser, Chief Daliwonga Mgwebi, stressed that they wanted "nothing taken away from the Zulu king", but that all the benefits he enjoys be extended to others.

block_quotes_start If you end kingdoms now because you say they are outdated, then this nation will lose its identity. block_quotes_end

Mgwebi, a lieutenant-general in the South African National Defence Force, also believes that the Presidency should be responsible for the administration of the monarchs' affairs.

Currently they are managed at provincial level.

Whereas King Zwelithini has seven palaces, King Zwelonke has only the Nqadu Great Place.

One could easily mistake the palace for one of the relatively well-to-do households in the village - and not the home of a monarch whose subjects can be found in areas as far as Zimbabwe and Botswana.

King Zwelonke's coronation last weekend was a historic affair for the Eastern Cape and the country as it marked the official reunification of the Xhosa kingdom.

For much of the past 50 years, the Xhosa had been split into two kingdoms - the Gcaleka and the Rharhabe.

The Nhlapo commission, appointed by the government to determine the status of various kingdoms and chieftaincies in South Africa, found this to be historically wrong and ruled that the house of Gcaleka - where King Zwelonke originates from - has jurisdiction over all Xhosas.

As a result, President Jacob Zuma then declared, in 2010, King Zwelonke the legitimate king of all Xhosas.

At his coronation, King Zwelonke called for amendments to the constitution to allow kings and other traditional leaders greater roles and responsibilities.

"We need to review [the constitution] so that we can entrench and increase the responsibilities of traditional leaders."

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On Friday, King Zwelonke suggested that kings enjoyed more legitimacy than democratically elected representatives. "Even the government we have today, we have because of the kings. It was the kings and other traditional leaders who agreed to form a movement [the ANC in 1912] to fight oppression and for a democratic government," he said.

"If you end kingdoms now because you say they are outdated, then this nation will lose its identity.

"Most people believe in traditional leadership and will not agree to being governed only by municipalities and government. If that were to happen, there would be conflict between government and the people."

Prince Xhanti said that even the government had turned to chiefs for help at times of conflict, which was the case with the Marikana mineworkers' strike in 2012.

"Traditional leaders are unifiers, mouthpieces of their communities, and are there to preserve culture, customs and religion," the prince said.

King Zwelonke said he would soon embark on a tour of areas under his rule and consult with communities on what needed to be done to further develop these rural areas.

Agriculture, education and attracting tourism are among his priorities.

King Zwelonke has one child from a previous marriage and hopes to have more children with his current wife.

Like King Zwelithini he, too, wanted a polygamous future.

"Yes, there will be other wives to come. One will be from a royal house and, hopefully, will give us a child who will in future sit on this chair," he said, referring to his throne.

msomis@sundaytimes.co.za