Descendants of the Ndebele monarch — King Lobengula — have donated blankets to Ekusileni Medical Centre, an isolation centre for coronavirus patients.
BY SHARON SIBINDI
Prince Peter Zwide Khumalo said the royal family drew lessons from their ancestors who always chipped in in such emergencies.
“It is our belief and understanding that this lockdown together with its strictness is necessary. This region like other parts of the world is faced with a potential disaster of unprecedented levels punctuated by the possibility of a greater fraction of the nation being wiped out by the contagious disease, coronavirus,” Khumalo said.
“This initial donation of blankets to Ekusileni Hospital by me, the King Lobengula family unveiled, King Nyamanda Lobengula lI, is a humble gesture to ensure that the first few of us that will be treated at this hospital find warmth in these blankets.”
Khumalo added: “We draw lessons from our ancestors on how they responded to emergencies and disasters. Ubuntu value system through leadership had an inspiring influence that gave hope and success. Isibindi (courage) in leadership and among followers created ukuzithoba (discipline) and focus on the targets to be achieved. Ubungcitshi bengqondo (wisdom) in leadership built trust and faith that things would be fine at the end of the day. The third element in building inspiration was the collective ethic. We are in it together … our common vision is to save lives.”
He urged people to stay at home saying “staying in there is the first and most lethal weapon against the coronavirus … maintain social distance, keep yourselves, in particular your hands clean, using soap and sanitisers and drink warm water, boost your immunity with vitamin C.”
Zimbabwe has 18 confirmed coronavirus cases and three deaths.
