By Celani Sikhakhane
Amabhinca say they were unfairly treated when their flight from Cape Town landed in Durban on Saturday afternoon after they praised King Shaka kaSenzangakhona.
The group had been returning from a cultural event at Cape Peninsula University, where participants celebrated their different cultures.
The term ‘amabhinca’ is an isiZulu descriptor for Zulus who adhere to their traditional culture, including wearing traditional attire and embracing maskandi music.
Nongoma FM maskandi DJ Welcome Ntombela called it hypocritical to criticise the group for noisily honouring King Shaka when no one complained about a rugby team singing and clapping on a flight from Durban to Cape Town the day before.
“It’s not fair to criticise us for praising King Shaka when people didn’t mind the noise made by the rugby team. The problem is that people still get upset when black people make noise, but if it’s white people, it’s accepted.
“We were quiet for the whole flight and only made noise when we landed to honour King Shaka, whose name the airport carries,” said Ntombela.
The situation worsened when the aircraft’s captain, upset by the noise, kept everyone on board for an hour after the plane landed. Passengers were only allowed to leave after the police arrived.
Ngizwe Mchunu, president of the Bhinca nation, is upset that people are calling them “barbaric” on social media.
He pointed out that the rugby team’s noise wasn’t met with the same reaction.
“On Friday morning, when we flew to Cape Town, a rugby team was on board. They made a lot of noise singing in English and Afrikaans, but no one told them to stop.
“We only made noise as we were landing to honour King Shaka. The police understood us when they arrived, and we were just escorted off the flight and went home,” Mchunu said.
Pictured above: Ngizwe Mchunu fought with flight crew after amabhinca, on a flight from Cape Town, celebrated King Shaka as it landed at the airport named after him on Saturday.
Source: Supplied video
