It indeed is the truth we begrudgingly accept that some things we may never understand, much less accept. Some of these are clothed in religious dogma or cultural terms.
King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, the monarch for all, was buried only by men – in 2021. Some kings are buried only at night – without informing their subjects of the date of their funerals. We may, if so inclined, crack our skulls, but in the end, what is to be achieved?
The one thing though we must not tire from doing is asking those in government to do what is required of them. The privilege of high office comes with commensurate responsibilities. It’s a social contract. One such contract is related to government’s responsibility to keep all of us safe from a marauding global health pandemic coronavirus.
The irony is that King Zwelithini succumbed to the virus, and regrettably his funeral will now stand as a reminder of how not to conduct Covid-19 funerals.
As the nation bade farewell to King Zwelithini, thousands expectantly descended on his home – KwaKhethomdandayo Palace in Nongoma, KwaZulu-Natal. They came from far and near. Dressed in western and traditional garb, they jostled for space to bid their king a fitting farewell. They observed no social distancing. The number of mourners was way beyond what government dictates for all of us. The police, often overzealous in enforcing the law, were like tamed dogs afraid of Amabutho, Zulu warriors. Some who watched from a distance said a silent prayer: may the king’s farewell not turn out to be a super-spreader of Covid-19. The police’s timidity was met with apprehension from a citizenry not just tired of police hypocrisy but weary of the toll the virus has had on many.
Indeed, it has been quite a feat for the nation to reduce the rate of infection, without much reliance on vaccines, from what was a devastating second wave. Many lie buried across our country as testimony to the pain visited on families. The irony is that King Zwelithini succumbed to the virus, and regrettably his funeral will now stand as a reminder of how not to conduct Covid-19 funerals.
How then did we get here? Can we, in all sincerity, claim this was completely unforeseen and no plan could have been put in place? Ahead of the funeral, KZN premier Sihle Zikalala sounded alarm bells, reminding mourners of the importance of respecting Covid-19 regulations. He then promised: “We will do everything to ensure that His Majesty’s service is not used as a reason to break any laws and regulations of our country and measures are in place to ensure that maximum safety and security is observed at the service.”
The mourners, of course, ignored him. And the premier knew as much as we did that they would. As they did at the funeral of ANC stalwart Seaparankwe Andrew Mlangeni.
Zikalala and, by extension, police minister Bheki Cele and President Cyril Ramaphosa, reasonably ought to have known that mourners would not stay away. After all, many of those who attended argued that this was no ordinary man and, consequently, his funeral should statistically reflect his stature.
On the surface, it seems police did not insist on stopping people from attending the funeral or observing social distancing because they wanted to avoid confrontation with the warriors. If this be true, it is shameful. The social contract we as citizens have with government is for it to protect us from physical harm or possible super-spreaders. Risking the health of the nation on the basis of a fear of warriors is something we neither understand nor accept.
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