Zulu king pleas for tougher parole
King Zwelithini has urged the government to review parole for prisoners because many parolees end up committing further crimes.
|||Durban - King Goodwill Zwelithini has urged the government to review parole for prisoners because many of those who are released end up committing further crimes.
The king was speaking at a commemoration of the Battle of Isandlwana near Nquthu on Saturday. He said it disturbed him to hear about incidents in which people were killed by ex-prisoners who had been released on parole.
“A son was released on bail from Mahlabathini prison and the next thing he did was to demand cattle from his father.
“While discussing the matter, the son shoots at his father, yet this person was released on bail. This person then moves to KwaCeza and he kills more people. How many years are these people given for the crimes they committed when they get released on parole?” he asked.
He said another case was when a man who had killed an acting chief of a Dube community was granted parole.
“Could the government please review the decisions about how people are given parole?”
He said it was common to find parolees committing further crimes. Recently an Umlazi man was rearrested after being released following the rape and murder of an elderly woman. This convict was caught red-handed in the house of an elderly woman after killing her.
He also called for calm in the minibus taxi industry and an end to the violence and killing.
“Lots of women have become widows after their husbands were killed,” the king said.
Hundreds of warriors came from different parts of the province to attend the commemoration. Some arrived in buses and others had walked to Isandlwana from surrounding areas.
This year marks the 137th since the historic battle when Zulu warriors, under King Cetshwayo kaMpande, Lord Chelmsford’s British army in 1879.
About 2 000 Zulu men and more than 1 300 British and colonial troops and irregulars were killed. King Zwelithini said there had been no need for this battle, and it happened only after the provocation of the Zulu nation.
“History shows that the English provoked King Cetshwayo. There was no need for Zulu warriors to die, although the English were involved with traitors.
“I ask that this word “traitors” not offend people because for real they were there, but on the other hand I am proud because of the victory of Zulu sons in this battle,” he said.
“These sons made a significant offering. It is because of them that as a Zulu nation we are now respected worldwide.”
The king also lashed out at some of the warriors in attendance saying they must respect the Zulu dress code.
“Respect your armour. I ask you never again to come with those ‘plates’ (small shields) that you are carrying because the warriors that fought here in Isandlwana never had these things, they had shields,” he said.
Introducing the king, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi said Zulu warriors defeated a powerful army of the English.
He said the chief warrior organiser of King Cetshwayo was his great-grandfather, Mnyamana kaNgqengelele.
“My blood twitches when I am here in the mountains of Isandlwana because my grandfather Mkhandima, who sired my father Mathole, was part of the battle and my grandfather’s brother was also killed in this battle,” he said.
KZN Premier Senzo Mchunu commended the king for being active and protective of his traditions and festivals.
Commemoration of the battle started with a prayer for rainfall. “We are severely under pressure where we are faced with drought, which makes us fear that we will end up in poverty,” said Mchunu.
The Mercury