Former president Jacob Zuma on Sunday appealed to the Zulu nation to remain united in honour of the fallen King Goodwill Zwelithini who died in a Durban hospital after a long battle with diabetes last week.
Zuma said this when he visited the king’s KwaKhethomthandayo Royal Palace in Nongoma in northern KwaZulu-Natal Province to pay his respects to late 72-year-old traditional leader whose remains will be “planted” on Wednesday night, according to family sources.
Paying his homage to the Zulu king, Zuma, an ethnic Zulu himself, said the monarch was “much-loved for his compassion and care.”
“We came here to pay our respects. We know pretty well the pain you are going through. There was nothing more that could have been done when God decided to take our king. Let us accept our fate” the former leader told fellow mourners at the palace.
He added: “Let us release our king to go well to his ancestors. Let his spirit go freely. Let us honour him by continuing to be a strong and united nation as he used to tell us his subjects.”
According to Zuma, “the entire country is mourning with us because our king welcomed and protected everyone. He never discriminated against anyone.”
Zwelithini’s xenophobic remarks in 2015, however, led to the killing of several foreign nationals after he claimed the new comers were taking South African jobs, he urged them to remain in their own countries.
The king, after instant criticism, was forced to recant the statements at a public rally held at a stadium.
Unfazed, Zuma said: “Our king was full of love, the kind of love you feel even by just looking at him. He was a loving king. He wanted peace. He wanted us to respect each other.”
“The greatest gift he gave us as his subjects was to revive our sacred cultural ceremonies — including instilling respect. That also was evident as most people loved him.
“We knew that we were safe under the leadership of our king. It is a great loss,” the former president mourned.
President Cyril Ramaphosa declared this weekend that the fallen king would be accorded the first category of a Special Official Funeral when he is laid to rest on Wednesday.
NM/as/APA