MNISI CLAN QUEEN COLLAPSES, DIES DURING MANTJOLO DAY

BADPLAAS – Happiness turned into sorrow when Queen of the Mnisi Clan in Southern Africa, Tholakele Shabalala, collapsed and later reportedly passed on during the course of Mantjolo Day.

The event was held at Enkonjaneni Royal Kraal at Badplaas in South Africa over the weekend. The queen, who was married to the late Inkosi Manyovu II, collapsed in the presence of members of Mpumalanga House of Traditional Leaders led by Kgoshi Mokoena and a delegation from Eswatini led by Prince Bukhosi last Sunday. This was shortly after her son, Inkosi Manyovu III, had delivered his speech to about 1 000 people for the first time since he succeeded his father who died from an undisclosed illness in 2019. The news of her collapse was not announced to the public, however, the attendees got to know about it when they heard screams from the relatives who saw her falling to the ground from her chair.

Some people rushed to the podium which was reserved for the kings and elders of the clan and began to pray loud. Paramedics and nurses who were deployed at the event were then called to assist. The incident lasted for about 15 minutes before Mephule Mnisi, who was directing the programme, requested the attendees to excuse the health practitioners so that they could be able to deal with the situation. Police officers, who were deployed at the royal kraal, requested the public to leave the royal kraal with instruction from the elders of the clan. Worth noting was that the programme director, who was interrupted by the incident, had announced the serving points outside the royal kraal when requesting the police officers to drive the people out of the royal kraal. As a result, the public proceeded to the serving points, leaving the health practitioners and the family at the royal kraal. Some people asked out of curiosity if their queen was well after she was attended to by the health practitioners. A response to them was that the queen had been rushed to hospital. They were told that she was unconscious.

However, some guests and close relatives were made aware that the queen’s heart had stopped beating when attended to by the paramedics and the nurses at the podium. Another ambulance arrived after about an hour and parked next to the podium, where Shabalala was given first aid. The presence of the ambulance gave the public the impression that Shabalala was still alive. Some people continued to sing and dance to their cultural songs, while others played loud music outside the royal kraal. A family member shared that the queen died while attended to by the health practitioners at the podium. “It is true the queen has passed on but an official comment would be made after the matter has been reported to Their Majesties. Eswatini culture requires that every death touching on chiefs, King and tindvuna shouldbe reported to Their Majesties before a comment is made in any platform,” said the family member.

Other members of the clan shared that they were officially informed at the flakily level that the Queen eventually died after collapsing. Mantjolo Day is a significant event for the Mnisi Tribe across the African continent. The event brings together members of the tribe and other African (Nguni) tribes at Enkonjaneni Royal Kraal for the commemoration of their history and existence. During the event, the Mnisi Tribe makes fire at the Mountain of Hope after which people are afforded an opportunity to pray for the forgiveness of their sins.  The Mnisi Tribe then lead the attendees to the sacred pool situated a few killometeres from the royal kraal for cleansing. The attendees are allowed to fetch water from the sacred pool for personal use even after the event.

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