N. Rakale: Address to Africa Summit
Written by Ikosi Sipho Mahlangu, Chair, National House of Traditional Leaders of South Africa
Friday, November 23, 2018
Address to Africa Summit 2018, Cape Town, South Africa, Nov. 21–25, 2018
Your majesties, your royal highness, delegates, traditional leaders, greetings to all. Let me clarify, I am standing here on behalf of the Sekhukhune royal house in the northern part of South Africa known as Sekhukhuneland in the Limpopo province.
We have a population of 1.5 million people living in that area. We are from the line of King Sekhukhune, who lived between 1814 and 1882, who was known to be a liberator and revolutionary. The great king brought all the tribes together to make one nation. His vision was that to bring them together there must be intermarriage. Unity was brought about not done by force or bloodshed, but through intermarriage.
The king has asked me to register the nation as supporting the initiative for peace, and as well give his greetings to Mother Moon. The king has expressed that he would wish one day that he would be given an opportunity, together with Chief Mandela, to meet Mother Moon so that the nation of South Africa can begin moving forward.
The king is currently leading 100 villages and tribal chiefs that are reporting to him. He has expressed that it is time that all the chiefs must come together under one message, which is social and economic development, and secondly, to look at ways in which we could no longer be divided by political ideologies but to remember that we are all one nation under God.
As we are here today to honor the legacy of Papa Mandela, the king has reminded me that I should not forget that this legacy has been there before and it will be there even after. We are tasked to come together and to bring Africa back to God. Let us unite Africa beyond borders. Thank you.
To go to the 2018 Africa Summit Schedule page, click here.