MBALULA FULFILS ROYAL PROMISE — ANC SHOWS IT IS AT HOME WITH THE BAPEDI PEOPLE
By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief
The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
AZANIAFROCOMEDIA – The Catalyst of Impact
By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief
The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
AZANIAFROCOMEDIA – The Catalyst of Impact
BAPEDI KINGSHIP MOHLALETSE, LIMPOPO— In a powerful display of culture, respect and political maturity, ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has once again proven his critics wrong — not with a speech in Luthuli House, but with cattle, tradition and humility in the heart of Sekhukhuneland.
On 30 September 2026, Mbalula led an ANC delegation to the Bapedi Kingship at Mohalaletse, Limpopo, to fulfill a royal promise made during the 75th Birthday Celebrations of Her Majesty Queen Leganabatho II Thulare of the Bapedi Nation.
The promise: 6 cows and a bull as a birthday gift to pay respect to Her Majesty. On Tuesday, that promise became reality.
As trucks carrying the cattle arrived at the Royal House, villagers gathered, phones out, ululation filling the air. Mbalula, draped in an impala skin, holding a traditional staff adorned with leopard skin, wearing the crown of the Bapedi people, stood side-by-side with Queen Thulare — not as a politician visiting a village, but as a son returning home.
"Today we paid a courtesy visit to fulfill the commitment we made at the 75th Birthday Celebrations of her Majesty Queen Thulare," Mbalula wrote on his official Facebook page.
"We emphasised that we are at home within the Bapedi people and the ANC will always be one with the Royal House of Thulare and its people."
This is the Mbalula that South Africa is now seeing — a leader who understands that the ANC is not just a party in Parliament, but a movement rooted in the soil of traditional leadership. At a time when many politicians ignore royalty until elections, Mbalula is building bridges.
And the Bapedi Nation responded with the highest honour.
Due to longstanding friendship, Queen Thulare bestowed upon Mbalula a traditional Bapedi name: "Hlabirwa." A name of solidarity, kinship and adoption into the Royal House of Thulare.
In his own words:"Due to our longstanding friendship the Queen gave me a traditional Bapedi name which is 'Hlabirwa'. This was an honour to me and the delegation as we viewed it as a token of solidarity and kinship with the royal house of Thulare."
This moment ticks all the right boxes for Mbalula.
Box One: A Leader Who Keeps His Word. In politics where promises are broken daily, Mbalula delivered 6 cows and a bull exactly as promised.
Box Two: Respect for African Culture and Royalty. Wearing Bapedi regalia with pride, he showed that modern leadership does not mean abandoning tradition.
Box Three: ANC Rooted in the People. By declaring "we are at home within the Bapedi people," Mbalula reminded the nation that the ANC's strength lies with traditional communities, with Queens and Kings who have led long before colonial borders.
Box Four: Humility and Statesmanship. To receive a name from a Queen is to bow before African custom. Mbalula did so with grace.
As South Africa approaches its 114th Anniversary of the ANC, Mbalula's courtesy visit sends a clear message: The ANC respects the institution of traditional leadership, and under Mbalula's secretariat, that relationship will only grow stronger.
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