Skip to main content

6 August 2022: The Military's Head & Triumvirate Rule by Mthoko M. Mpofana

The Military's Head

I think the military's chief commander (one who is not the country's head) is one of the more complex positions to box in developing countries. You could argue that the military's chief commander holds the most might in the land. When the military's chief commander is not the land's head (president/king/emperor/prime minister), the position is difficult to control because it is one coup away from being the land's head (NB: in developing countries) & unfortunately a land usually only has one army. Developed nations don't have the problem of military coups because most people are satisfied with how things are in the land & their military is often paid well. 

It is important for the land's head to either be the military's head or for the land's head to be on good terms with the military's head. In some lands, you'll find that the land's head makes the military's chief commander their brother or in older & more tribal days, the emperor would have a highly equiped & trained military regiment made up of just his family that might act as his bodyguards or backup military should all else fail or if the imperial army fell under leadership of a rebel chief commander. The above is why I think all monarchs should have a career in the land's military.
Mthoko M. Mpofana


COULD A TRIUMVIRATE WORK IN TODAY'S WORLD?  

In the beginning stages of the Roman Empire it was said to be governed by a triumvirate i. e. three heads. This sounds like a good idea, if one king/emperor strays out of line, the other two could bring him back. The problem with this is that it would take the three heads reaching a conclusion before anything was done in the land which may not even be that long seeing as kings often consult with even more than two advisors at a time. We've heard of a land being run by two princes & most lands either have a president & vice president or both a prime minister & president. Three heads are better than two, it would not be a parliament within a parliament but rather a more consistent & lasting form of governance. If one leader dies or cannot rule, the other two remain & bring in the third ruler. In the case all three perish, the son continues from where the father left off. Three is also better than four or five because with four kings ruling the land, power becomes almost too delegated to the extent that many might not know who's running what or who is the head. A triumvirate is apt. If we borrowed the concept of democracy & Africanised it, a rule by triumvirate can equally be Africanised. Sure, one leader may stand out & the legislature around this type of monarchy may be complex but it is more solid, consistent & lasting from my perspective. Should there be any quarrels between the three kings, they could be solved in private by the extended royal family or even in parliament should the dispute be on national matters. One other factor to consider in this triumvirate rule is that there would almost be no need for a prime minister. A strong triumvirate could make for a ferociously strong land & even a divided triumvirate could be better because it's still three heads.
Mthoko M. Mpofana

Popular posts from this blog

History of the Mpofana by Mthoko M. Mpofana

I'm not very traditional, I'm more straightforward & basic & often disregard cultural nuances so this history of the Mpofana tribe is going to be as direct & concise as possible.  Growing up, I grew up knowing that the clan praises or izithakazelo of the Mpofana are "Zulu" & "Ntombela", I never questioned that.  What I know now for sure is that there's a lot more that's hidden in history. What I keep seeing being repeated from various sources is that the Mpofana were part of the Amazizi (or AmaTiti) tribe. I now know that in the midlands & perhaps further north, up to the northwestern parts of KZN, they use the greeting "MaZizi okuhlala", perhaps alluding to the fact that the Mpofana as well as other Amazizi tribes were among the original tribes to settle in present-day KZN from 200 AD onwards & the "Dlamini" praise or greeting was used among all Dlamini tribes i. e. the Amahlubi, Amazizi (Mtiti), Hlangwini...

A little about eSayidi ( Port Shepstone )...

Port Shepstone is a small town on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal known by the locals as "eSayidi".  In Port Shepstone, attractions include; Port Shepstone Museum, the annual Sardine Rush, a mall, two shopping centres & the beach.  Port Shepstone was settled by British, Boers & Norwegian settlers during colonisation.  By Port Shepstone is the suburb of Marburg where it's said Emperor Shaka met with Henry Francis Fynn in 1828 after the Zulu's Mpondoland campaign in present-day Eastern Cape. Descendants of Norwegian settlers in KwaZulu-Natal include cricket all-rounder Lance Klusener & South Africa's most successful football coach Gordon Igesund.  Despite many groups living in Port Shepstone including those of east African, west African, southern African, Asian, Arab & American descent, it remains a Zulu-speaking town.  Famous names to come from this small town called Port Shepstone include:  • Naima Kay (Singer...

What would a white exodus in South Africa mean?

Alright, in my previous blog I mentioned a white & Indian exodus in South Africa. We already joke about white people leaving South Africa for Australia, England or Canada & finding the going tough then coming back to South Africa but what if they were to go to a country where everything would be comfortable for them & they would forget about South Africa. What would become of South Africa?  Farmers: We're led to believe that the majority of farmers in South Africa are white so that vaccum would have to be filled & frankly, I don't think the current crop of black farmers can fill the void so we may have to buy food from elsewhere in the world so food prices may increase more than they already have.  Skills exit: Some may claim a skills exit in South Africa would leave a vacuum that would be filled by indigenous black professionals & while that may be true, they'll need to obtain the experience that the former non-black people had. No racism: There would ...