King Zwelonke (Mpendulo Calvin Sigcawu; 4 April 1968 – 14 November 2019) was a South African royal and King of the

Xhosa people The Xhosa people, or Xhosa language, Xhosa-speaking people (; ) are African people who are direct kinsmen of Tswana people, Sotho people and Twa people, yet are narrowly sub grouped by European as Nguni people, Nguni ethnic group whose traditi ...

. He became king on 1 January 2006. Zwelonke was born at Nqadu Great Palace in Willowvale in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

Xolilizwe Mzikayise Sigcawu King Xolilizwe KaZwelidumile (Mzikayise Sigcawu; 6 June 1926 – 31 December 2005) was the King of the Xhosa people from 10 April 1965 to 31 December 2005. King Xolilizwe was an active member of the National House of Traditional Leaders. He was ...

and Nozamile. King Zwelonke Sigcawu had been king of the AmaXhosa since the death of his father, King Xolilizwe Sigcawu, in 2005.

Death and funeral

On the evening of 11 November 2019, the king was rushed to hospital in

Mthatha Mthatha , formerly Umtata, is the main city of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa and the capital of OR Tambo District Municipality. The city has an airport, previously known as the K. D. Matanzi ...

by ambulance. King Zwelonke died in the early hours of 14 November 2019 at the age of 51. No cause of death was provided. He was given a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

on the 29 November 2019 and together with royal funeral and at Nqadu Great Place, Willowvale, his funeral was attended by high profile politicians Former President

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC ...

who made keynote speech as an elder, President

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

made

eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a ...

Premier of the Eastern Cape The Premier of the Eastern Cape is the head of government of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The current Premier of the Eastern Cape is Oscar Mabuyane, a member of the African National Congress, who was elected in the 2019 election. ...

Oscar Mabuyane Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane (born 24 February 1974) is a South African politician who has been serving as the seventh Premier of the Eastern Cape since May 2019. He was previously Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Economic Development, Enviro ...

, General

Bantu Holomisa Bantubonke Harrington Holomisa (born 25 July 1955) is a South African Member of Parliament and President of the United Democratic Movement. Holomisa was born in Mqanduli, Cape Province. He joined the Transkei Defence Force in 1976 and had beco ...

Julius Malema Julius Sello Malema (born 3 March 1981) is a South African politician and activist who is a Member of Parliament and the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a left-wing party which he founded in 2013. He was formerly the President of ...

and many others and the

royal house A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in repu ...

s of Ama

Rharhabe The Rharhabe House is the second senior house (Right Hand House) of the Xhosa Kingdom. The Rharhabe house was founded by Xhosa warrior Rharhabe, who was the older brother of Gcaleka ka Phalo. History of the Rharhabe The Xhosa royal blood line st ...

, ama Zulu, ama

Ndebele Ndebele may refer to: *Southern Ndebele people, located in South Africa *Northern Ndebele people, located in Zimbabwe and Botswana Languages * Southern Ndebele language, the language of the South Ndebele *Northern Ndebele language Northern ...

, aba

Thembu The Thembu Kingdom (''abaThembu ababhuzu-bhuzu, abanisi bemvula ilanga libalele'') was a Xhosa-state in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. According to Xhosa oral tradition, the AbaThembu migrated along the east coast of Southern Africa ...

, and many others.

References

1968 births 2019 deaths Xhosa people Rulers of the Gcaleka Monarchies of South Africa {{SouthAfrica-bio-stub