This afternoon, at Ndimakude Sports Ground in Flagstaff, Eastern Cape, mourners from all over the world are assembled for the Special Official Funeral Service of King Zanozuko Sigcau of the AmaMpondo, who passed away on May 31, 2022, from illness.

Earlier, when Prince Mbasa Sigcau took the podium, he reminded the crowd that the President and the other respondents were the subject of a court order, and the funeral nearly fell into anarchy.

Prince Mbasa’s reference to a court order indicates that Prince Dumelani Sigcau and the AmaFaku Royal family were free to observe any customary rites they saw fit in honoring the deceased.

The royal family was expected to respond to President Cyril Ramaphosa, CoGTA Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, and several Sigcau family members.

However, once Programme Director Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Land Reform Nokuzola Capa gave Prince Mbasa the microphone, he spoke out strongly against the proceedings, demanding that the court order be honored and the royal family be treated with dignity.

 

 

 
He told Minister Capa that she and the administration are dishonest when she tried to calm him down. He went on to say that the government is dissatisfied that mourners at the burial are dealing with people who are not known to the royal family that installed the late King as AmaMpondo King.

He said that certain members of the royal family were actually challenging the kindship while publicly identifying themselves as representatives of the monarchy.

Many people felt that Ramaphosa and the ministers who attended the burial were meddling in royal affairs and needed to be given the truth. There were others who thought the Prince could have chosen a more appropriate venue for his remarks than among the grieving crowd.