The Ndebele people in the United Kingdom (UK) recently held a vibrant commemoration of the late King Mzilikazi in Southampton, attracting Ndebele members from western Europe.
Led by Ntabazinduna traditional leader, Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni, the event on September 21, 2024, celebrated Mzilikazi’s legacy as the founder of the Ndebele Nation and the growing global presence of the Mthwakazi people.
Chief Ndiweni noted that the various celebrations held by Ndebele people who are based in various parts of the globe is a reflection that there is a huge number of Mthwakazi people dotted around the world who value their culture.
“We held the King Mzilikazi commemorations in England on 21 September, 2024. It was a beautiful event that was well attended,” Chief Ndiweni said.
“The event is one of the many that have been celebrated in countries outside Zimbabwe, Dubai and South Africa and another is yet to be held in the United States of America. It is beautiful to see the clan growing.”
Chief Ndiweni also highlighted that on September 28, 2024 in Southampton, there was a festival hosted by the , which served to bring together the black business community in the United Kingdom.
“The Black Business Art and Music Festival in the city of Southampton. It is designed to assist the black business community within that particular city and surrounding areas in the United Kingdom to try and assist them in any ways that they can, and also to bring people of black businesses together,” said the chief.
“We even had performances from our renowned poets, Obert Dube and Sithandazile Dube who had travelled from Zimbabwe. This festival will definitely grow with time and many people will be part of it because the city of Southampton is supporting it and they are getting assistance from the University of Southampton and other areas where there are black communities. The assistance is coming in the form of resources and finance.”
Apart from the festivities, Chief Ndiweni said the event served to commemorate the black men and women who lost their lives fighting during the first and second world wars.
“Attached to this event was a sombre occasion whereby there was the commemoration of the masses of black men and women who lost their lives during World War 1 between 1914 to 1918 and World War 2 during 1939 to 1945 and the many other conflicts after that, whereby many black people lost their lives,” he said.
“We were accompanied by some of the current serving black men and women in His Majesty’s army who come from across the Commonwealth.
Chief Ndiweni narrated that his great grandfather was also part of the army members who died in the first World War.
“I also participated in this ceremony to commemorate my grandfather who died in 1918 during WW1. He was a Chief from Ntabazinduna who went with the soldiers to fight. Although the elders didn’t want him to go he felt the need to go and fight and unfortunately he lost his life there,” he said.
“So when news finally got back to Ntabazinduna that the Chief had died, they installed his young son. They called him Khayisa because his father had died fighting the Kaiser of Germany.”
In Zimbabwe, the local King Mzilikazi Commemorations were held on September 7, 2024 at Mhlahlandlela, where orominent Ndebele chiefs called on the Ndebele nation to cherish and preserve their culture while promoting its growth in a rapidly changing world, amid concerns over the erosion of traditional practices.
