Mourners bid farewell to amaNdebele King Makhosoke II

[00:00:00]Mourers are today bidding farewell to his majesty king Makoson II of the Amanda nation at a special official funeral in Guam Shang Bumalanga. The revered traditional leader passed away on Tuesday at the age of 65 after serving his people for four decades.

[00:00:17]King Makoson II is being remembered for his dedication to preserving and develop culture and promoting education as well as strengthening traditional leadership.

[00:00:26]Deputy President Paul Mashadila is expected to deliver the eulogy at the funeral service. Newsroom Africa's hotto is attending the proceedings and joins us now live for more. Can you detail what we can expect from the funeral service today?

[00:00:46]>> Thank you very much. So right now we are outside the royal homestead of the late Amand Dele King, his majesty king Makoson II and he did pass away uh this Tuesday at the age of 65. His official funeral will be taking place at the Solomon Matlangu Stadium which is just a few kilometers away from here. But for now family members have come to the royal homestead uh just as they prepare to head towards the stadium. But if one considers um bumi the life and times of the late Amand dele king uh born Enoch Makoson Mabena ascending to the throne in 1986 and uh for 40 years uh playing quite a pivotal role in celebrating the Indeel culture, language and customs and really advocating for the celebration of the debil culture. certainly someone as well who was quite passionate about empowering young people through education. But on a more national platform, he played a big role as the chairperson of the forum of majesties.

[00:01:56]And that platform specifically looked at bridging the gap that sometimes exists between traditional leaders as well as government. But to bring into the conversation, I do have with me the king's spokesperson, Mr. Menna, to give us more details. Mr. Mena, thank you so much for your time. Perhaps you can tell us if uh the the royal family's wish for the legacy of the Amand Dele King, what would they like that to be especially for future generations?

[00:02:24]>> Thank you very much. Uh Bumi, let me greet you and greet the viewers at home.

[00:02:29]Yes, Bumi. I think as you mentioned before that the role that the king has played h we must also add that the king must also remember that he was a chairperson of the rainbow minerals and there are a lot of things that our magistry has made as you speak to the issue of his legacy we must look at the issue of the education because he was so passionate about education that young people must go to school I can confirm to you that today we've got doctors through the king of our king. He makes sure that young people go to school and make sure that the Nebell people are benefiting out of his foundation. So is one of the legacy that we will remember our king with and it should stand that young people they should go to school they should study we should have professors the researchers we must remember that as the nation our history is is wrongfully written. So we have we must have people who are well educated who will know our history because he was also passionate about the history of Amanda that as the belly nation our history need to be corrected. So young people they must come up go to school make sure that we rewrite the the history as I'm standing here today I can say to you that uh this is the history making again we are studying a new chapter of his of his majesty that we must also write the history we will love and appreciate if one of the government our government if one of the the big area for instance the multo corridor if they can name the multo road under our our king to say this is majesty king Makoson road so that the young generation they will know that there was a king who play a very crucial role to make sure that he united the mill nation he built the ble culture he was one of those king long time ago there was a a a foundation called king basket where he had an agreement with the mu by then where He bring Mahi in developing young people trying to establish business in terms of agriculture.

[00:04:45]H our king was taking our youth to to to be the the farmers sewing all those things. You can mention a lot that our king was busy doing.

[00:05:00]>> Now Mr. Mena perhaps if we look at his um healthy if one could say a good relationship he had with so many uh leaders in government what were some of the characteristics that made up King Makosong that made him so enduring in terms of having a good relationship as a traditional leader with government >> one of the thing and a very important thing our king he was a a downto- earth a person h when you you are with him he didn't mind who who are you he will talk to you build a relationship w with you so that is why a lot of people they've got this respect to him because he was respecting the this other people he was not taking this thing of saying I'm a king and say you know what when you speak to me or when I'm with you you must feel that I'm a king he will always warmly welcome you address you in a in a very proper proper way so that is one of the things that make him what he is today.

[00:06:00]>> Yes.

[00:06:01]>> And I guess just another question in terms of his uh passion uh you did mention for advocating for the amand culture but as well as educate seeing young uh people be educated but perhaps between these two which one was his priority?

[00:06:17]>> Education was his priority? Yes, education was his prior priority. That is why when you check in this history we had an agreement with the university of vendor that is where he started that the university of vendor must teach is the bell then he went over to the university of free state university of northwest currently they were busy with UNISA that UNISA must also teach Isabella so education it was one of the thing because it will tell you that without education nothing that that you'll do education is the key to success So he wanted to see our people being educated. Yes.

[00:06:56]>> And I guess just another question, Mr. Menna, some of the social ills that exist within our communities, poverty, inequality, unemployment. Uh what did the king have to say about these?

[00:07:09]For me, I remember in one of the galatin because almost each and every year on the 16th of December, he will call the the the people that he work with, the stockholders just to come and say thank you to you. In in his address, he said to to us, you know, it is so unfortunate that we as the Nele nation, we don't have ministers. If we were having ministers as the Neil Nation today, we were going to celebrate this event and get elderly, give them food parcel through the the mobilization from the ministers and from from the government.

[00:07:45]So the issue of poverty, you are saying you know what we have to share the resources that we are having with your neighbor. You must not let your neighbor go hungry while you've got something.

[00:07:56]you must make sure that you also provide for for for for the neighbors and other issues of of of drug abuse. He was also very strict to say our young guys they must come out from the street. We must have uh centers where they can rehabilitate so that they can go back to the community and make some means to create job opportunities because some of these young kids they are in drugs because they don't have anything to do.

[00:08:24]We must also look at other activities that we can do so that these young young kids they can move away from the street.

[00:08:31]Yeah. So those are the things that he was really passionate about.

[00:08:35]>> Thank you so much for your time Mr. Men.

[00:08:37]>> Thank you.

[00:08:38]>> Thank you. Thank you. So there you have it in Bumi. Just a sense from the king spokesperson about uh his life and times and the things that he was most passionate about. So just to give you a sense of some of the activities outside the royal homestead as the family members uh prepare to move towards the Solomon Matlangu stadium. But as uh Mr. Menna was explaining there, someone King Makoson II of the Amand Dele uh very passionate about seeing young people empowered also someone who was down to the ground as he described him. someone who didn't, you know, just assume of his role as a king. So, someone who may have been inaccessible. No. Uh describing him as not someone quite like that, but uh one with the people. And uh so a sendoff uh of the uh set to take place at the special funeral category 1 taking place at the uh stadium and the eulogy said to be uh delivered by Deputy President Paul Mashad. our hotel out in Bumalanga there