Many people think that the only people ruled by a king in Africa are only those living in Swaziland. I have heard news from many international media houses making this mistake time an again. As an African, living in Swaziland (Southern Africa), I know that Swazis are not the only people ruled by a king. Many would be surprised that there are other kings in Africa that rule more people than those by King Mswati of Swaziland. What do I mean? All I mean is that there are more kings than presidents in Africa, only that their publicity is not for the international community.
I know definitions differ from the international perspective, but in African politics a king is an individual who has the following qualities:
1. Born to the family of the preceding king and should be a male
2. One who does not share power with a living father who is a king. The king must die first before the son takes over
3. Must have a clan that fully or even partially support his kingship
4. Whose powers are based on history and not necessarily democracy
There could be more reasons than the above listed, but those that quickly came to mind are just these four. Before I confuse a lot of readers, let me get to the heart of the matter. The driving factor for some of the hidden kings is ‘Politics’. For example, South Africa would want to stick to having a President ruling over the land other than a king for political reasons. Please don’t close this page because you hate politics, but read on to learn how Africa is ruled. I’m also not going on with the politics subject because I’m a self declared armature. Of course this is my independent understanding of what I see around us.
Let me give you a shock of your life, there are more than four kings in South Africa — just South Africa alone. There is a king for the Zulus, Ndebeles, Shonas, Xhosa and even more clans. All of them have the qualities listed above.
Powers of the Kings
I could have sub-titled this subject as ‘Authority vested on the King’, but ‘authority’ is not a strong enough word for the position of a king. Kings automatically demand respect from governing structure, just by the nature of their position. This goes down to individuals. For example, no one can stand looking the King straight into his eyes other than other kings and/or people rulers such as presidents and religious leaders. Though the king respect his peoples choices in terms of religion or cults, but his powers cut across all that. Within his territory, a king can call any person to order. If not so, that person must leave the territory without questioning.
If by chance you have watched the movie ‘Coming to America’ by Eddie Maphy, you can relate to what I mean by the phrase ‘powers of the king’.
Much as the king may have absolute power within his constituency, but let’s put things to perspective. Kingship is not about the following:
1. Bossing around
2. Womanizing (as many may assume so)
3. Violating peoples rights
That is why a king normally has some advisors. A king who does not respect his people is called to order by the elders of the family. This is time where peoples concerns are discussed and corrective actions are recommended or even imposed to the ruling king. A king rules by power and not necessarily democracy. If all corrective initiatives suit his people, then everything else is in order.
I know that opinions differ when African kingship is defined, but the truth and understanding of what it is may give answers to some of the things that happen in Africa. To read more on similar subjects, visit my website at www.yourmotivation.co.za.
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