President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared that the late King Makhososonke II will be honoured with a Special Official Funeral Category 1 with military honours on 14 June.
The traditional leader of the amaNdebele akwaManala died at the age of 65 on Tuesday, 9 June, after 40 years on the throne.
Nation prepares to honour the late monarch
The funeral, which is set to take place at Solomon Mahlangu Stadium in KwaMhlanga, Mpumalanga, will include ceremonial elements provided by the South African National Defence Force.
“President Ramaphosa reiterates his deep condolences to the Royal Household, Her Majesty Queen Sekhothali, amaNdebele and the Basotho nation, from whom Her Majesty is descended, as they prepare to bid a final farewell to the King,” Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said in a statement on Friday.
Magwenya said Ramaphosa had directed that the national flag be flown at half-mast from Saturday, 13 June to the evening of Sunday, 14 June.
Legacy of leadership and development
During his reign, the monarch – born Enock Makhosonke Mabhena – championed education, land restitution, and socioeconomic development initiatives aimed at uplifting communities under his leadership.
And while he was praised for this, the king found himself entangled in a bitter and often divisive dispute over the rightful kingship of the amaNdebele nation.
The conflict, which lasted decades, pitted the Manala and Ndzundza-Mabhoko royal lineages against one another and raised fundamental questions about whether the amaNdebele should be led by a single king.
The Nhlapo Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims ultimately concluded in 2008 that the amaNdebele kingship was vested in the Manala lineage and that King Makhosonke II was the rightful leader of the amaNdebele nation.
The commission also found the Ndzundza-Mabhoko house did not constitute a separate kingship.
Additional reporting by Sipho Mabena
