Following lifting of a court order stopping the Maseko Ngonis from holding their annual Umhlangano ceremony, all roads on Saturday led to Inkosi Ya Makosi Gomani V’s headquarters in Ntcheu for the ceremony.
The bone of contention was that family member, Titus Phillip Gomani—the only surviving son of Inkosi Ya Makosi Phillip Gomani II, was not entrusted with the organisation and overall coordination of the ceremony as promised by Inkosi Ya Makosi Gomani V at his installation in 2012.
Titus, in an affidavit he filed, said despite being the only living patriarch to the Gomani royal family, the family has since 2013 been sidelining him in the organisation of the event.
But Inkosi Ya Makosi Gomani V said the High Court order issued on Thursday in Blantyre was lifted Saturday morning, just timely for them to proceed with the ceremony which attracted Maseko Ngonis in the country as well as those from Mozambique and Tanzania.
“I found the court documents at my house this morning, but the order has been lifted and we are going ahead with our ceremony,” he said.
The order, issued by judge McLean Kamwambe, stopped Mswati Alex Kanjedza Gomani (Inkosi Ya Makosi Gomani V), his aunt Rosemary Malinki and Ntcheu district commissioner (DC), who are defendants in the matter, from proceeding with the ceremony.
Earlier, the court stopped the decision to hold the event until another court order is made or until both sides have been heard.
Umhlangano is an annual event celebrated at Manda aGomani, at Nkolimbo Village in Ntcheu.
Before the court granted him the injunction,told the court that it was agreed in 2012 that it would be his responsibility, upon being satisfied with the conditions for the holding of Umhlangano in a particular year, to recommend to Inkosi Ya Makosi Gomani V to convene the ceremony.
He complained in his affidavit: “Some members of the Maseko Heritage Trust and Umhlangano committee members led by the second defendant herein [Malinki], who is self-imposed acting Inkosi Ya Makosi Gomani, arbitrary usurped my authority in leading the organisation of Umhlangano
