INKOSI MNUKWA MADHLOPA HISTORY AND LIST OF RULERS

Under Inyandezulu, Inkosi YaMakhosi Mphezeni KaZwangendaba of Eastern Zambia, there is an Inkosi from the Madhlopa clan and his area of jurisdiction is commonly known as 'Chikenkhe cha Msang'ombe'.Thus, it is a common affair for Ngunis that are under Inkosi Mnukwa to simply state when asked who is their Inkosi, "I hail from Chikhenke Cha Msangombe". But who really was Mnukwa Madhlopa and why is now an Inkosi under the decorated aMazwangenaba Kingdom of Mphezeni? 

The Journey from Nongoma in the South

The name Mnukwa is Nguni and it means 'The Suspect'. Here we can add that the name Mnukwa is a name the giver wanted to level an allegation through his name. 

Old documents or indeed manuscripts on the Mphezeni Kingdom mention the name 'Mnukwa Mazyopa' (the Madhlopas of Zambia now use this corrupted version of their surname) and it is stated he was a key ally of King Mphezeni 1 and was in charge of passing judgement on those suspected to have been practicing witchcraft or had bad spirits. The short but intriguing notes on Mnukwa state that it was Mnukwa who was the final judge on whether one with a 'bad spirt' would be killed or they would reform once the bad spirits were exorcised from them. In other words, one may conclude that Mnukwa was the Induna of King Mphezeni tasked with ensuring the Kingdom was free from 'Bad Spirits'.

A historical place in Nongoma, it is near this area where the Madhlopas claim ancestry from. 

Although the document in question does not necessarily say, where Mnukwa Madhlopa came from, one is able to ascertain that their ancestral home in the North of Zululand, in the Nongoma area, for even today they are still there. They are an offshoot of the Zwides as even in their isithakazelo they mention Zwide. This fits perfectly in the picture given the fact that Zwangendaba KaHlatshwayo had an alliance with  Zwide.which culminated into the  Ndwandwe alliance. One may thus be correct to state that the people of Mnukwa Madhlopa came specifically from this area. 

The town itself was only established in 1887 with the building of Fort Ivuna by the British as a buffer zone between the Zulu warring factions. It was originally called Ndwandwe but was later replaced by an earlier name given by the local tribesmen to the sacred area where the town stands: KwaNongoma ("place of the diviner or mother of songs").

Isithakazelo/Clan Names of Madhlopa 

Madhlopha

Lingode,

Mcobe Wembewu owacabo izizwe zonke zacobeka

Yyathikazi,

Sizwe esingajwayelwa,

Zwide KaLanga,

Sonkophe,

Sondiyandiya,

Luphondo  olumaphunduphundu,

Moya omnandi onjengo wengonyama,

Ngobatshani,

Phosise,

Mathanda,

Nina, enathandwa yinkosi yakwaNondwengu,

Sothondose!

The Madhlopas after the death of Zwangendaba

In 1845, the Madhlopa clan were in a limbo after the death of the man who had inspired them to follow him on his great trek. After the death of Zwangendaba among the Ufipa people, supporters of his sons were almost starting a civil war as each wanted their preferred candidates to succeed the Great Nguni Leader who had built one of the most diverse Nguni empires in the history of the Abenguni states. Although the large chunk followed Mphezeni, also known as Ntutho, the eldest son of King Zwangendaba, some with the supporters of Lufo, another son of Zwangendaba from Queen Mkhlumane of Emsicweni village. 

It was those under Mphezeni who flourished under Mnukwa Madhlopa to have scaled the power of the aMazwangendaba Kingdom and became a reputable clan. It is now clear when Mnukwa Madhlopa died or if his death preceded that of King Mphezeni. However, his principal wife came from Edingeni village also known as 'Soseya Nxumalo' village under Inkosi Mihlolo, also an Inkosi under Mphezeni in Eastern Zambia. 

The Reign of Zibabo Madhlopa (Inkosi Mnukwa I) and shift to the outskirts of Chipata

By Inkosi Donald Madhlopa (Mnukwa IV)

As just explained in the preceding paragraph, Mnukwa's principal wife came from eDingeni village and its through her that Crown Prince Zibabo Madhlopa was born. Again there is not information on when he was born but we see that he is the recognized first Inkosi Mnukwa. Under his reign, Chikenkhe was well settled at Mgazini (Chimdima) where Gondar barracks and Chipata Airport are today in Chipata, formally Fort Jameson. 

However, around 1936 Inkosi Mnukwa1 died and his son Zenase Madhlopa, the first born son  from his frst wife Matolase Jele KaNtutho, who was a sister of Inkosi Maguya the first, ascended to the throne as Inkosi Mnukwa 2. Zenase had one brother Ferike and two sisters Memiwe and Mayase from their mother Matolase.

This time around, the colonial government decided to  settle world war white veterans near town away from the Tsetse fly infected bush in the north. Because of this Chikenkhe cha Msang'ombe Ngonis had to move again. You must note that villages like Chijayezo, Muma and others were where Chipata Airport is today, where as other villages like Lukhalo were in areas where  Macgragor farm and Mamarula Lodge and other farms are today. Other villages like Kalima, Chikwanda, Jabesi and many more covered areas presently occupied by tobacco farmers in Masupe and Kapala. 

It is also worth to note that the current Airport was located where the Namboard Sheds are and was not regarded as a suitable place.The government decided to shift the airport to the present site. Because of the above reasons the colonial government moved the people of Chikenkhe cha Msang'ombe  Northwards. Chief Mnukwa's Headquarters moved to East of Mwazyangulu Hills and was named ePoseni. Other villages like Kaizole, Lukhalo, Chifombo spread eastwards to Mnoro area.

In 1942, the colonial government needed to create more room for the white farmers and the town of Fort Jameson to expand and decided to move Chikenkhe cha Msang'ombe again Northwards. They also had the intention to move people from Inkosi Kapatamoyo area as well. In preparing for this, the colonial government placed villages into agriculture block zones. To this end they dug wells called ma dirayo, because you had to like drive the handle to draw water. The fllowing were the blocks so created among others: Tambala, Chamoto, Mbejele and other blocks comprising of many villages. 

On old maps, you will mostly see the block names rather than actual village names. Eventually in 1942 we moved Northwards to as far as Mbejere hills in Mduwi area. Most of these areas were infested with tsetse flies because of the wild animals. Some villages that had moved abandoned their villages because of fear of wild animals and Tsetse flies while other villages like Mdikha and Kaizole did not relocate to the allocated areas because of the above. It is for this reason also that five (5) villages belonging to Chikenkhe namely Chikwanda, Kalima, Togwane, Jabes and Mshawa did not relocate and eventually found themselves  where they are today, in Inkosi Mishoro's (Mihlolo) area.

The death of Mnukwa II and the reign of Inkosi Mnukwa III

Inkosi Zenase Madhlopa died in 1954 having ascended on the throne in 1936. It has to be mentioned here, that after the death of Inkosi Zenase KaZibabo, there  was a caretaker Monarch until 1958 when the rightful heir (Inkhosi Mastone) was officially recognized as Inkhosi Mnukwa by then colonial Northern Rhodesian government in 1958. Inkhosi Mnukwa III reigned from 1955 until his death in November 2005. 

Inkosi Mnukwa III with renowned Zambian business Tycoon, Tom Mtine.Tom Mtine, who is now based in Ndola and aged 95 plus, and many other Mtines from this kingdom hail from the village of Lukhalo.

Currently, Donald Madhlopa KaMastone reigns as the Fourth Inkhosi Mnukwa and he co-authored this article.