THE commander-in-chief of amabutho (warriors), Sipho Mhlongo, has called on amabutho to track down a social media content creator who's become notorious for his disparaging remarks against the Zulu monarch and King Misuzulu.

Mhlongo said the issue of Max Makhanya, a famous TikToker, has been troubling them for some time.

"We are not happy with what Max Makhanya says on social media, disrespecting the Zulu nation and the monarch," said Induna Mhlongo.

He said they've approached the Makhanya tribal authority in eMbumbulu, south of Durban, where Makhanya hails from, and its traditional prime minister, Mbongeni Makhanya, and asked that he be summoned to a meeting to be counselled about his habit of talking recklessly.

He said they chose this approach because they respected the Makhanya tribal authority and the clan and didn't want to apportion blame to them.

Makhanya could not be found at his residence, and had relocated from his last known address in the informal settlement in Mayville, Durban. He is reported to be somewhere in Joburg.

His relocation prompted Mhlongo to call on Johannesburg-based amabutho to track down Makhanya.

Makhanya's unhinged social media rants against the monarchy and the king are engineered by people who feed him information, according to King Misuzulu's backers.

"We have a great relationship with the Makhanya tribal authority, and we respect the clan; however, they need to come and say whether they are against Max or not, as Max always mentions that he's a Makhanya and comes from the Makhanya area. This is going to cause unnecessary animosity."

Mhlongo appealed to the Makhanya tribal authority to come clean about whether they are in support of Max's utterances and behaviour or against them because he's been on an anti-King Misuzulu crusade for a long time.

The TikToker has, for some time, used his platform to let rip with unsavoury remarks about the king and even alleged that he wasn't the rightful heir. In his insults, he has never addressed the king by his kingship but calls him by his first name. He has also questioned and condemned many decisions that the king has made.

Among them were the king's impending divorce against Queen Ntokozo KaMayisela and his relationship with Queen Nomzamo Myeni, who has children from a previous relationship.

He cited the relationship with Queen Nomzamo as the reason why he thought the king had brought the Zulu kingdom and nation into disrepute.

Mhlongo said: "To fix this, we need to take it seriously as amabutho and defend the throne, even though we know that what this Max is saying are things that don't come from him, but there are people behind him.

"There is no Zulu person or anyone who sympathises with the Zulus who can tolerate Makhanya's utterances."

Mhlongo said: "We are not forcing anyone to respect the king because he's our king as the Zulu nation. If someone thinks he is not their king, that person should step aside. Our ancestors and forefathers respected the monarchy."

Last year, a famous TikToker from KwaNongoma, northern KZN, was gunned down at KwaSteve Shisanyama in Malvern, Joburg, on December 8.

Dubula Mbatha, 32, rose to infamy for his polarising views on the popular music genre maskandi and would throw expletives at those who disagreed with his views.

He was shot 16 times and died in hospital the following day. His death remains unsolved. After Mbatha's death, Max apologised to everyone he might have insulted on TikTok but resumed his insults against the monarch and the king.

Max has doubled down and fired back via TikTok at Mhlongo and said it was a shame that amabutho from Ulundi are led by someone like him.

"How can he threaten me on TV cameras? Why is he saying that I am disrespectful when he's threatening me? We also have amabutho and we would not allow him to use amabutho to further his deeds to curry favour with Misuzulu," said Makhanya.

Makhanya is supportive of Prince Simakade, who's challenging King Misuzulu's throne and has repeatedly said he doesn't recognise his kingship.

SUNDAY TRIBUNE