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News - Date: 01 October 2012
The king's residence at Dzanani was abuzz with activities on Saturday, with hundreds of community members and other guests gathered there for a feast and dance.
The celebrations were organised by the royal family in recognition of the efforts by all that led to the restoration of the Vhavenda kingship. The event drew many chiefs from around Vhembe and more than 20 senior chiefs.
Conspicuous in their absence were kingship hopefuls Thovhele Mphaphuli, Nephawe and Tshivhase.
The king made a grand entry in a white Rolls Royce.
The executive mayor of the Vhembe district, Cllr Tshitereke Matibe, said they would give the royal house their full support, so that development could take place in the area. Mr Jackson Mafunzwaini, senior advisor to the king, said the throne had always belonged to the Ramabulana. He gave a brief history of the family tree.
On behalf of the chiefs, Thovhele Jeffrey Ramovha said he was happy that the long years of squabbles had finally come to an end.
King Toni Mphephu said the ceremony was just a social gathering for him to spend the day with his subjects and not a celebration of the court outcome as kingship was not contested in court. "The support I received from my subjects encouraged me to soldier on. All along I knew that our forefather Makhado had fought his battles and never lost one. We knew that they were just trying, but they would not win," he said, without mentioning names.
He reminded all that one "One cannot just wake up wearing new shoes and claim chieftainship; one must be born into that family in order to qualify," he said. He thanked all and urged all his people, those in government and in traditional leadership, to be united for the good of all the Vhavenda. He said he was king of all of them and also extended a hand of friendship to all, including those who had been contesting the throne.
After the short programme, a festival atmosphere developed with many artists, among them the well-known Zozo, Malondolo, Mutendas and Rapson Rambuwani, dishing out music to the delight of the guests.
Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019. He currently writes on a freelance basis, covering human rights issues, court news and entertainment.
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