Qaukeni Royal family and traditional leaders endorsed the late King Mpondombini Sigcau’s daughter, Princess Wezizwe Sigcau as the legitimate Queen to ascend to the throne and lead the amaMpondo nation. The endorsement was made public at an Imbizo held in Qaukeni Great Place in Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape.
This follows a Supreme Court of Appeal Judgment that ordered that Nhlapo Commission’s findings and the decision for stripping Qaukeni’s kingship were wrong and should be set aside.
AmaMpondo aseQaukeni regard the judgment as a victory.
Scores of AmaMpondo people clad in their traditional regalia, singing, and dancing in appreciation of the Supreme Court of Appeal order for the return of the amaMpondo Kingdom to Qaukeni.
They converged at an Imbizo held in Qaukeni Great Place where the hall was full to capacity.
Local villagers and traditional leaders expressed excitement about the judgement.
Will Smith, a villager, believes the judgement has brought back the amaMpondo Kingdom to its rightful place.
“We are too happy that the judgement has brought this kingship back to Qaukeni because Qaukeni is like a home to us. Since we were born in my grandfather’s town we knew that Qaukeni is the home of the Pondos, but now this has brought so many divisions amongst the Pondos, but we are so excited,” says Smith.
Nelson Dweba, a traditionalist, says politics and greed for money were the main reasons the government decided to strip Qaukeni of its kingdom.
“I am feeling very well and I am so happy about what happened about this judgement. I am happy. This is not a false judgment, this is a true judgment. All over the world, everybody is going to be aware (as to) who is the king ruling the Pondos,” says Dweba.
The amaMpondo Royal Family Spokesperson Chief Mandilive Cinane says the Supreme Court judgement proves that the Nhlapo Commission and the government were wrong for stripping kingship from Qaukeni.
“This judgment proves that the Nhlapo Commission and the government’s findings were wrong and we challenged that. But we were ignored and we took the matter to court and we now feel vindicated because the Supreme Court of Appeal ordered this kingdom to be brought to where it belongs. Yes, Princess Wezizwe Sigcau was endorsed by his late father King Mpondombini as the one to take this throne and lead the Amampondo nation. We will continue with the consultation process and make Amampondo know who their queen is. We want peace, we want unity and prosperity as the amaMpondo,” says Chief Cinane
Those in support of the Supreme Court judgement endorse Princess Wezizwe Sigcau as the Queen of amaMpondo.
Simon Dumani, a villager, says gender cannot be used for denying the princess to ascend to power.
“Even the bible says if the king gave birth to daughters only, the first princess can take the throne and lead the nation. If, there is no son in that lineage, only princesses. So, we are happy about that and we endorse the princess to continue as per her father’s wish,” says Dumani.
Projects and centres that were meant to benefit the rural people were torched because of unrest among the amaMpondo nation. The Supreme Court judgment has widened divisions among this nation as two different Imbizos to discuss the ruling have been called in different venues.
VIDEO: Imbizo discussing amaMpondo kingship dispute
