Aggrieved members of uMkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans (MKMVA) in KwaZulu-Natal have asked King Goodwill Zwelithini to intervene in solving what they described as an injustice against them.
The group also believes SA is under threat of invasion by foreign nationals whom they believe will outnumber citizens in the near future, and have asked the king for guidance on dealing with this matter.
Mduduzi Mkhize, a member of the delegation that met the king last week, told Sunday Times Daily they felt deserted by the ANC, a party they belong to, and decided to organise outside political lines this time.
“We have approached amabutho [regiments] from all hostels around KwaZulu-Natal for support. They have embraced us.
“Our fight is apolitical. Our inclusion of amabutho proves that we are not fighting a political war because everyone is welcome, despite their political affiliation,” said Mkhize.
Mkhize explained what they told the king: “We went to the king to ask for his intervention, wisdom, blessings and direction because since we came back from exile, we feel the government has let us down. We are poor, with no economic prospects. Some of us have no housing and our families are suffering.”
He said the delegation was welcomed at the Royal House and they planned to have more engagements with the king.
“We are his subjects. He was happy to see us and we are still going to have meetings with him to discuss everything we need him to assist us with in detail.”
Some of the group’s demands, which have been handed to the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal in a memorandum, include that foreigners be banned from employment in the transport, hospitality, education and medical sectors and from strategic SOE positions. They also want foreign nationals to be banned from truck driving and employment as domestic and farm workers.
As black people we need to unite because the amount of illegal immigrants in SA is now too high and in the next 10 to 15 years, they will take over our country.
— MKMVA delegate Mduduzi Mkhize
They called for refugee camps to be built for foreigners “until all illegal immigrants are deported back to their countries”.
The group has taken to the streets of Durban several times, shutting down foreign-owned shops and stalls in the city centre.
Mkhize said they explained their anti-foreign national stance to the king.
“As black people we need to unite because the amount of illegal immigrants in SA is now too high, and in the next 10 to 15 years they will take over our country.
“What we fought for during the struggle is not being realised, so we have decided it is our duty to defend this country, from within this time. We are not attacking anyone, we are defending our country,” they told the king.
He added they will visit all provinces to rally fellow liberation soldiers behind the cause.
“There are about 4,500 of us here in KZN. The king has mandated us to go and speak to other members throughout the country and brief him, so that he knows what our collective programme is before he addresses us.”
Another request to the king was that young people across the province be “trained by the veterans”.
“MK will never end. What we want, beyond a better life for ourselves and families, is that all people of this province are trained, especially those who live in rural areas, get knowledge and that our children stop doing drugs.”
Another member of the delegation, Jabulani Mazibuko explained what the training of youth by former soldiers would entail as SA already had military and law enforcement capacity. He shied away from describing the proposal as military training.
“We are seeing Afrikaners in Orania having their own land. We don’t know what they do there or what will happen in the future, so we wish that our children are also trained so that if anything happens they are ready to defend our land.
“It may not be military training, but they must be taught patriotism and how to grow and be productive members of society. We are asking the king to take his place in this matter and guide us with amabutho,” Mazibuko said.
He added that the training would help preserve the history of the MKMVA.
Mkhize said they also told the king that their attempts to intervene in drugs and human trafficking had been prevented by the police. The group has previously blamed foreign nationals for the drug problem and sex trafficking of young women.
“We know where these drugs are manufactured; we know where they are sold in areas such as Point Road and in the Durban city centre. We know places that have children that have been trafficked, but when we attempt to go there and rid the community of such people it is the police that prevent us,” he explained.
MKMVA has previously marched with truck drivers who also are demanding that foreign nationals not be hired ahead of South Africans in the sector. After those marches, several trucks and drivers were attacked. Mazibuko said the king was very concerned about this.
“The king’s only concern was that the matter of attacks against trucks and truck drivers was associated with us. He then asked that it should stop and that consultations must be used to find solutions, not violence because that is economic sabotage. We agree with the king on that,” said Mazibuko.
Mkhize said while their plight was “ignored” by the ANC-led government, they had no intention of causing chaos as they were part of those who fought for the liberation of SA. They merely wanted a better life too.
“We have nothing, no housing, not even money to buy food. They [ANC government] won’t even give us jobs to clean the streets. You see us chasing foreigners because we have decided let’s fight for the nation. That is why we went to the king for guidance, because we don’t want to end up doing wrong things. Nobody will stop us. It is painful but we have no choice. Maybe the king’s voice will have an impact because the politicians only care about money now.”
Royal Household spokesperson Prince Mbonisi Zulu confirmed that members of MKMVA presented their grievances, and said the matter of having another audience with the king was a possibility.
“They came because it was a celebration of the coronation of the king, like anybody who can come and visit the king. They were given an opportunity because they wanted to say why they had come.
“They raised their concerns about many things that are happening in the country,” the Prince said.
