Bhekani Ndwandwe may not be a cultural, economic geographer or policy maker of that genre of development, but that lives in his blood and brain. His whole being is about cultural economic geography, the ultimate emancipator of humanity from financialised and monetarised living and livelihoods.
Ndwandwe, who resides in one of the African suburbs within Umhlathuze municipal area (twin towns of Empangeni and Richards Bay), is a young man with bright eyes and has kept the faith in ideals of Madiba. With a brand futuristic, a brand that will rise from the ashes when each has to account on why intergenerational value eluded Black Africans and Coloureds. When the national dialogue starts, Zwide has long been in this conversation and placed it in plain sight for all to see. He long made the call for all of us to dig our buckets where we are. For in culture, heritage, history and the art of politics rest our economic emancipation.
Zwide saw in Madiba Jive soft power to steer our emotions towards a better and different direction. One that we can project into the world. I recall my telephone conversation with Ambassador Jerry Matjila when I intimated to him the vision of a young man by the name of Zwide and the possibility of building global peace using Madiba Jive. The occasion of United Nations (UN) Secretary General Gutierrez delivering Nelson Mandela Annual lecture could have been the most apt. We agreed with Matjila that it would have been. Hard and good ideas do not die. Surely Zwide’s farsighted thoughts do not die.
Now for 12 years he has been on this dream and for more than eight years the Madiba Jive for Peace has become a feature on the calendar of Richards Bay. Come sunshine or rain Zwide has succeeded to host the Annual Madiba Jive for Peace. It might be held far from the glitzy and full-sized stadia. This has not deterred Zwide from mission. Indeed, we need Madiba Jive for Peace today more than we ever did.
Zwide has innate and the natural gifts of a panegyrist or traditional praise-singer, he has emerged as a self-made cultural entrepreneur. As he builds on the peace mission, he has gone years back into heritage of Africans. Whilst it is said charity begins at home for Zwide the words are charity begins everywhere but it also can begin at home. To this end for quite some time he envisioned a contribution he could make to translate his notion of eulogy for a notable figure to one of celebrating the life and fame of King Cetshwayo, the last Zulu potentate, before dismemberment of the kingdom in 1879.
King Cetshwayo is known for his well-documented prowess in facing the might of the British imperial forces on a few battle sites, notably the Battle of Isandlwana, where his combined army of 25,000 men, under Chief Commander, Ntshingwayo kaMahole Khoza, gave a good account of themselves. Notwithstanding other setbacks which marked the fall of the Zulu kingdom, Cetshwayo’s name has remained topical in colonial history of South Africa. He was the only African king who was ferried to the British Isles, as an ironical prisoner of war, for an appointment with Queen Victoria. Leaving the site of his royal household at Ondini, which had been burnt to ashes by British soldiers, he traversed the hills and vales of the eastern side of the present KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) to board the ship at Port Dunford. Notable in his journey is the aerial signpost, which was given the name of Esikhaleni, which literally means ‘the last area he touched base with’, before sailing to the Cape Colony and Great Britain.
Bhekani has taken the epic and legacy of King Cetshwayo as items of cultural heritage worth celebrating on an ongoing basis. This is part of proud Zulu history. Cetshwayo Day is commemorated on January 22 each year, when Zulu people and guests from outer areas converge at Isandlwana, the memorable site of the Anglo-Zulu War.
For Bhekani his initiative is unique, original and unparalleled for a person of his age and background. He has shaped his commemoration and celebration of King Cetshwayo as a continual festival of African experience and cultural richness of varied dimensions. His project has begun to yield dividends. There is enormous support it seems to draw, ranging from the Zulu Royal Highness, to local governance entities, potential donor agencies and members of the African community.
But it remains an expressly cultural and non-profit project, not a business enterprise. The Annual King Cetshwayo Heritage Festival 2025 was on the February 15, KwaZulu-Natal King Cetshwayo District Port Dunford Sportsfield. The official launch of King Cetshwayo Heritage Festival was staged on November 30, 2024 at Esikhaleni senkosi kwaNozalela Port Dunford at King Cetshwayo’s Monument. This event promotes Arts, Culture and Tourism; in short it is in understanding cultural economic geography that is where the liberation of Blacks rests and claiming cultural economic geography as an economic policy, all and sundry can be free and intergenerational value can be created.
In the not distant future Madiba Jive for Peace will fly globally as Madiba Jive for Global Peace. South Africa needs it. The world needs it.
Dr Pali Lehohla is a Professor of Practice at the University of Johannesburg, a Research Associate at Oxford University, a board member of Institute for Economic Justice at Wits and a distinguished Alumni of the University of Ghana. He is the former Statistician-General of South Africa.
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