The story of the Mthwakazi Kingdom has its genesis in Zululand in an area between Esikhwebezi and Mkhuze Rivers, where a people called amaNtungwa lived with their King Matshobana. Matshobana was not the first ruler of the amaNtungwa; the list of rulers goes back through Mbulazi, Musi Mhlanga to Khumalo and further into the historical unknown. We begin with the Matshobana era because he is the father of the main player, the Bull Elephant u Mzilikazi ka Matshobana. The amaNtungwa were divided into three groups; the southern amaNtungwa ruled by Donda, the central around Ngome ruled by Bheje and the northern around Mkhuze River ruled by King Matshobana who also presided over all the amaNtungwa as King with Bheje and Donda as paramount chiefs under him. It is to Matshobana that the Bull Elephant u Mzilikazi was born by Nompethu the daughter of \King Zwide of the Ndwandwe. Mzilikazi was born around 1790.
The area now Zululand was ruled by two powerful Kings: Dingiswayo of the Mthethwa and Zwide of the Ndwandwe. These two between which the territory of the amaNtungwa was squeezed, were bitter rivals. Their rivalry drew the amaNtungwa of Matshobana, leading to the murder of Matshobana by Zwide. Matshobana was killed together with Donda who ruled the southern amaNtungwa. Donda had warned Shaka, who was on his way to assist Dingiswayo fight Zwide that Dingiswayo had been killed by Zwide and if he had proceeded, he would suffer the same fate. This meddling by Donda angered Zwide and he decided to destroy the amaNtungwa. He killed Donda, his heir and Matshobana and also sought to kill Mzilikazi, Matshobana’s heir.
When Mzilikazi learnt that Zwide wanted him killed, he fled and went into alliance with the upcoming Shaka of the growing Zulu. It is when he was with Shaka that the Zulu nation grew exponentially. Mzilikazi and Shaka together killed Zwide and destroyed the Ndwandwe. Mzilikazi played a major role in the destruction of Zwide and the Ndwandwe in preparation for his return and the revival of his kingdom. It is said that Shaka saw Mzilikazi as a potential future threat and he hatched a plan to have Mzilikazi killed. Mzilikazi left Shaka to revive his kingdom in a place previously occupied by his father Matshobana. Shaka sought ways to destroy Mzilikazi but these under hand machinations of Shaka only strained relationships between the two, leading to Mzilikazi openly defying Shaka and Shaka sending troops to punish Mzilikazi. In this encounter Mzilikazi repulsed the Shaka attack. This was followed by other attacks that threatened to wipe out the amaNtungwa; hence Mzilikazi left his ancestral home to seek a new home away from this perennial danger. On the way across the Drakensberg he incorporated many people from different nationalities and tribes.
He first moved to Siteki in the north of Swaziland then to Delgoa Bay which is present day Maputo, where he stayed for three years and then over the Drakensberg to Ermelo in present day Mpumalanga. Later he moved to the area of Pretoria and Johannesburg, among their cousins the amaNdebele. It was here that his people were named amaNdebele and that name still holds up to today. Here he encountered the Boers. There was continual fighting between the two. The Boers who were running away from the English, had guns which the amaNtungwa did not have. Mzilikazi was once again forced to flee northward across the Limpopo river hence the name; “Imbabala umasila gokuthubela” meaning “the antelope that survives by running away from danger”. On leaving this place he was joined by a large number of amaNdebele, Pedi, Venda, Sotho, Swazi and other nations. King Mzilikazi had left present day Kwa Zulu- Natal in 1822 with barely three hundred (300) military men accompanied by their women and children and a lot of cattle. On the way they were joined by groups of Ndebele, Pedi, Swati, Tswana, Venda and others, attracted by King Mzilikazi’s leadership style, his military prowess, his governing and welfare system. They initially settled near Delagoa Bay around Siteki in the north of Swaziland from there across the Drakensberg to Ermelo in Mpumalanga and later in the area of Pretoria and Johannesburg among the Ndebele people, hence they are referred to as amaNdebele. Later they moved to Mosega.
At Mosega a continual flow of people streamed to join this new nation. They also faced a new enemy, the white men with his guns. They fought running battles with this new threat winning many battles and losing more at a great cost in soldiers. The nation that had swelled to over 70 000 men was reduced to just over 20 000 at their departure from Mosega to present day Mthwakazi/Matabeleland. These figures show that the Mthwakazi nation either had to fight better than their attackers or move on or face complete extirpation. In pursuit of safety and survival King Mzilikazi decided to move northward.
In what today is Zimbabwe they were, to a large extent voluntarily and peacefully joined by the Kalanga, Nambiya, Tonga, Karanga, Amasili and others, finally making the Mthwakazi nation an assemblage of diverse peoples, comprising of Amasili, Asians, Coloureds, Dombe, Europeans, Kalanga, Karanga, Lemba, Nambiya, Ndebele, Sotho, Swazi, Shankwe, Tonga, Tshangani, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu, and others who call Mthwakazi (commonly known as Matabeleland) their home and subscribe to its cardinal principle of UBUNTU. They were gathered and cemented together under King Mzilikazi with UBUNTU as the principle of government. They maintained their various cultures and languages all harmonised by mutual respect. This vibrant homogenised nation of nations will soon turn two centuries old since its inception. The founder of this nation of nations, King Mzilikazi named it uMthwakazi, from the word uMbuthwakazi meaning a great gathering of diverse people. The “bu” is left out or silenced to produce the “ku gcwigcwiza” sound. The Mthwakazi Nguni language is replete with such word formations.
Thus, the Mthwakazi Kingdom, uMbuthwakazi was so formed and established by King Mzilikazi. To this day the Mthwakazi nation, has remained true to the accolade, a beautiful rainbow nation – uMthwakazi omuhle-Ondlela zimhlophe, composed of no fewer than thirty-five ethnic, language and culture groups. To-date, the Mthwakazi open-door policy has continued to attract people from all over Africa and the world, especially from Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Europe, Asia and more. The miracle that is Mthwakazi lives on! Bayede! Ngangezwe lakhe!
In what today is Zimbabwe they were, to a large extent voluntarily and peacefully joined by the Kalanga, Nambiya, Tonga, Karanga, Amasili and others, finally making the Mthwakazi nation an assemblage of diverse peoples, comprising of Amasili, Asians, Coloureds, Dombe, Europeans, Kalanga, Karanga, Lemba, Nambiya, Ndebele, Sotho, Swazi, Shankwe, Tonga, Tshangani, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu, and others who call Mthwakazi (commonly known as Matabeleland) their home and subscribe to its cardinal principle of UBUNTU. They were gathered and cemented together under King Mzilikazi with UBUNTU as the principle of government. They maintained their various cultures and languages all harmonised by mutual respect. This vibrant homogenised nation of nations will soon turn two centuries old since its inception. The founder of this nation of nations, King Mzilikazi named it uMthwakazi, from the word uMbuthwakazi meaning a great gathering of diverse people. The “bu” is left out or silenced to produce the “ku gcwigcwiza” sound. The Mthwakazi Nguni language is replete with such word formations.
The territory in the KZN is presided over by the Bheje and Donda dynasties. The Transvaal is presided over by the Nkulumane dynasty and Matabeleland {Zimbabwe} which was presided over by the Bull Elephant u Mzilikazi ka Matshobana and later Lobhengula; the present successor is u Mzilikazi II {Stanley Raphael Khumalo} oka Ngeza, ka Mdlomelo, ka Khuhlumba, ka Hlangabeza, ka Mzilikazi ka Matshobana.
The above map of 1870 was done before the colonial partitioning of Africa and two years after the death of King Mzilikazi and there is no territory known as Mashonaland. The whole area they now call Zimbabwe alias Mashonaland is recorded as Matabele land. Obviously, the map lacks some detail, but it does tell our story.
It must be clearly understood that when the colonialists came to Africa, they showed no respect for territorial integrity of the indigenous kingdoms. In pure arrogance and robbery, they created new boundaries as they sort to increase the size of their so-called “protectorate colonies” which in verity were their territories. Such was the case with the Matebele Kingdom. The current boundaries as they stand are a colonial insult and supremacism and cannot be dignified, no progressive force should. Above is the map of Matabeleland/ Matebele Kingdom as described by King Lobhengula in 1890. The shaded area is the sovereign state of Matabeleland/ Mthwakazi Kingdom. The Kingdom fell in 1893. HRM King Mzilikazi II’s sovereignty is rightfully and legally over this whole territory because this is the last description of the Matebele country by the last Matebele king, King Lobhengula. Anything else after and outside that is British construct and is a lie therefore should never be considered. The territory size can be roughly estimated at no less than 300 000 square kilometres. From the coordinates it should be easy to measure the area.
His Royal Majesty King Mzilikazi II is working on fully regaining his territory.
