FOR the first time as Zulu king, King Misuzulu kaZwelithini will remember the hurtful burning of the Zulu Royal Palace by the British army invaders during the Anglo-Zulu war.
The commemoration will be held at Ulundi on Monday, 4 July where the king and Zulu Traditional Prime Minister of the Monarch and Nation, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, will teach the young ones about the struggle of King Cetshwayo during the war.
They will also teach them how to take Cetshwayo’s struggle further in the problems they face.
The commemoration will mark 143 years since the burning of the kingdom’s capital in Ulundi, where Cetshwayo kaMpande was taken away to Queen Elizabeth and brought back later. The brutal act of the British happened on 4 July 1879 at the Battle of Ulundi, the final battle of the war.
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The British army had famously been defeated by the Zulu regiment at Isandlwana in Nquthu, KZN on 22 January 1879.
This caused an uproar in Britain and an embarrassed Lord Chelmsford was determined to regain his reputation.
The first invasion of Zululand was a failure and a second one was launched.
After a couple more battles, the British reached Ulundi.
Cetshwayo tried to negotiate, but Chelmsford did not accept, wanting to regain his stature in the United Kingdom.
