Durban - The National Freedom Party has called for the establishment of a commission of inquiry into the killing of traditional leaders while also calling for Amakhosi to be accorded a similar status to mayors saying that Amakhosi must be equal to mayors in terms of benefits.
The NFP’s calls comes in the wake of the murder of Inkosi Mandlakayise Nxumalo, 71, who was shot dead this week in Ladysmith and becomes the latest traditional leader to be mowed down in KwaZulu-Natal.
NFP secretary-general Cannan Mdletshe said that according to information at his disposal nearly 30 traditional leaders, including izinduna and aiders, had been killed in the province.
“Due to the seriousness of the situation, we believe we have reached a point where a commission of inquiry must be instituted to look into these murders, especially to establish who commissioned these killings and for what benefits,” Mdletshe said.
He said that the province of KwaZulu-Natal had always been a unique province due to the fact that one of the world's greatest nations, the Zulu kingdom, was situated in the province.
“As the organisation, we also call on traditional leadership, in particular amakhosi, to be accorded the same or similar status as mayors so they can have similar or equal benefits, including financial benefits as mayors, especially with regards to protection, transportation and respect,” Mdletshe said.
He said they were of the view that if amakhosi were accorded the same status as those of mayors, they would be protected because they would have bodyguards or protectors, adding that if amakhosi had similar status as mayors, they believed that service delivery would flow in communities under traditional leadership.
“We are therefore going to take this proposal further by engaging KZN MEC for Cogta, Sipho Hlomuka, as well as KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala on this matter. Ours is about the protection and respect of this important structure within the province of KwaZulu-Natal,” Mdletshe said.
He added that they also wanted amakhosi to have fully-fledged offices with full and permanent staff.
This week Hlomuka called for the police to apprehend those who were responsible for the killing of Nxumalo, describing the killing as an “act of cowardice” and added that they had been actively engaged with the issue of safety concerns raised by amakhosi.
Ahead of the KZN State of the Province Address (Sopa) last month IFP provincial chairperson Thami Ntuli said the issue of the killing of amakhosi was a major concern for them adding that they should have security protection.
He lamented there had been no efforts to take care of them and recognise traditional leadership properly.
Political Bureau