‘Travesty of justice’ sees new monarch crowned

A Bulawayo family has defied a High Court order and installed South Africa resident Bulelani Lobengula as the new Ndebele King. Bulelani was due to be installed at a traditional ceremony in Zimbabwe’s second city in March but Peter Zwide-Kalanga Khumalo, another claimant to the throne, secured a High Court interdict blocking the event. However, New Zimbabwe reports that Ntabazinduna Chief Felix Khayisa Ndiweni declared Bulelani as the official monarch of the five houses of the Khumalos. ‘To qualify as king, Bulelani went through all the necessary traditional rites done within seven days,’ he said. He criticised the High Court ruling and accused the government of trying to block the revival of the Ndebele nation. ‘It is incredible that a judge can give a verdict of a trial and yet cannot write up that verdict for six to seven months. That is a travesty of justice,’ Ndiweni added. Khumalo dismissed Bulelani's inauguration, saying ‘I am the real Ndebele king’.