The Manala royal house
Mabena, spelled Mabhena in much of the published record, is the name of the royal house of the Manala, the lineage under which the Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims found the kingship of the amaNdebele resorts. This page follows the commission’s determination on the kingship dispute of the amaNdebele between Johannes Dlize Mabena and Mbulawa Enock Mabena (Makhosonke II), which looked at the succession inside the Manala house after the commission had already found that the kingship of the amaNdebele resorts under the Manala lineage.
Silamba and his sons
Both sides in the dispute agreed that Silamba was king of the Manala at Wallmansthal (KoMjekejeke), north of Pretoria. The claimant said Silamba had twelve wives and seventeen sons. The respondent ranked the wives by order of marriage: the first, senior house was that of NaMahlangu, the mother of Buti (also known as Mbhedlengane); the second was Munyadiwa’s, the mother of Libangeni; the third was NoMkhutshwa’s, the mother of Mkhutshwa (Saul Songazimbi); and others followed. Silamba died in 1892.
The succession as the two sides gave it
The commission records both genealogies as mostly common cause. Buti succeeded in 1892 and died in 1895. His heir Nyumba (also called Mabhena), the son of the senior wife Nakgoma, was a minor, so Buti’s brother Libangeni was regent from 1896 to 1903. Nyumba ruled from 1903 until he died in 1905 leaving one son, Mbulawa, who was also a minor, so regents again took over. The respondent says Mkhutshwa was regent for a few months and then Mbhongo I, a son of Buti by his wife NaMsiza (called Trompie), who was of the left-hand house, took over the regency, and was initiated in 1906. The claimant says Mbhongo died in 1932 and that Mbulawa then ascended; both sides say Mbulawa died in 1941 without a child. See our Mbhongo page.
The dispute
The claimant, Johannes Dlize Mabena, is a descendant of Libangeni. He argued that Makhosonke II is not the rightful principal leader of the Manala because he is not a direct descendant of Silamba and comes from “the house of regents”, and that Mbhongo I was fathered not by Buti but by Marhokolodi, another of Silamba’s sons. After Mbulawa’s death, he said, the royal council appointed Libangeni’s son Thukani, who reigned from 1948 to 1960, and he is Thukani’s son. The respondent, Mbulawa Enock Mabena, known as Makhosonke II, argued that the kingship passed to the second house of Buti, that of Mbhongo I, so that Makhosonke I ascended in 1941; that after Makhosonke I died in 1947 his son William Mbhongo II was a minor and Thukani was appointed regent for him; and that Thukani was never king. Both sides agree that after Thukani’s death in 1960 the two families went to court, and the respondent says the courts ruled for the Mbhongo line over the succession and the estate of Mbhongo I, that William Mbhongo II was installed as king in 1960, and that he died late in 1974; the claimant says the matter was never resolved.
What the commission decided
The commission found that Mbhongo I was the son of Buti, because even if he was fathered by Marhokolodi, his mother was married to Buti when he was born, and a child born in wedlock was presumed to be the husband’s. It found that the line did pass from Nyumba’s house when Mbulawa died without a child, and that under Ndebele custom the next qualifying house was that of Mbhongo I. It found it highly improbable that Thukani was installed as king, not regent, in 1948. It noted that after going into hiding the claimant did not do much to pursue his claim, and that none of the Manala traditional leaders supported him and his side had not consulted the community. It concluded that the claimant “is not entitled to the position of king of aManala”, dismissed his claim, and held that the house of Mbhongo I, the house of Makhosonke II, “is the rightful lineage to hold the position of king of aManala and amaNdebele as a whole”.
What we have not read
This is a contested succession. We have not read any court judgment, any later response from the claimant’s family, or the commission’s separate determination on the Manala-Mbongo paramountcy. We have not verified who holds the position now. The facts above are the two sides’ accounts as the commission recorded them, and the findings are the commission’s.
Izithakazelo and totem
We have not found a published Mabena praise text or a confirmed totem, so we are not printing either. If you belong to the Manala royal house and recite its praises, we would like to record them, with your permission and credited to you.
Sources and further reading
- Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims: Determination on the kingship dispute of amaNdebele between Johannes Dlize Mabena and Mbulawa Enock Mabena (Makhosonke II) (pp. 437 to 470 of the PDF)
Do you belong to the Manala royal house? Tell us your praises and what elders say about the history, and we will add it, credited to you. Share what you know or WhatsApp 065 138 8213.