A total of 55 traditional leaders have been killed in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) since 2019 and in response, KZN Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC, Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi, has directed the department to find urgent solutions to tackle these killings.
Buthelezi made the call during his first meeting with the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial House of Traditional and Khoisan leaders held in Durban this week.
The meeting was also attended by representatives from the local houses across the 11 districts in the province.
During the meeting, Amakhosi (Zulu clan chiefs), through the House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders Chairperson, Inkosi Shinga, presented a list of issues they felt the MEC needs to look into, as he continues with his duties.
Buthelezi emphasised that Amakhosi in the province have a critical role to play in shaping the discourse around the institution of traditional leadership in the country.
“Our aim is to ensure that Amakhosi are treated with utmost respect, while being allowed to champion development for the communities. We will amass the requisite legal expertise to assist us in this process,” Buthelezi said.
“The killing of amakhosi has been a worrying scourge in our province. We’ll fight to end this and ensure the ultimate safety of Amakhosi,” said Buthelezi.
In January 2024, traditional leaders in the King Cetshwayo District called on government to come up with urgent solutions to curb the killing of Amakhosi and Izinduna in the province.
Secretary-general of Ubumbano Lwezinduna, Falendoda Malinga, told the Daily News: “We are hoping that the new leadership in KZN will prioritise the safety of traditional leaders, especially in KZN. We will continue to fight for the safety and well-being of our traditional leaders.”
“We have many izinduna [leaders] who have been killed in our province, but there are no convictions. We plead with police to thoroughly investigate such cases and bring the culprits to book.”
One of the possible reasons for the high number of killings is traditional leaders illegally selling land belonging to families in their areas.
