King Toni’s fun walk aims to unite the residents

The King Toni Mphephu Ramabulana Fun Walk and Musangwe is expected to draw a full house, with the king having confirmed his attendance. The event will precede the Phalaphala FM Royal Heritage Festival and will take place on 11 September, the day before the main festival.

Last year, the fun walk that started from MTG Funerals with a choice of a 5, 10 and 15 km walk and the musangwe drew thousands of participants including Thovhele Gole Mphaphuli, Thovhele Kennedy Tshivhase, Vhembe executive mayor Tshitereke Matibe and many traditional leaders. Expectations are that it will pull a bigger crowd this year.

In an interview with Limpopo Mirror, Mphephu Ramabulana said that the event was more than a walk and watching musangwe, "but a promotion of unity among the Vhavenda nation and promoting Vhavenda culture. Yes, the event is my initiative, together with the organisers of the festival, as we jointly believe the culture of our forefathers comes second to none. We believe this is an opportune time for us to be together and spend the day with our people."

The king said he could not underplay the importance of the fun walk in terms of the health side. “We all need healthy bodies to do our work properly and some of us are inviting diseases that could be avoided just by exercising. Since we started with this, many have confirmed a tremendous improvement in their health, and I am leading by example to my subjects for them to look seriously at their health."

One of the organisers, Shandu Nesengani, said they were humbled as organisers to be working with the owners of the land, such as the king and other traditional leaders.“We are celebrating Heritage Month in style and the mere presence of the king means a lot. We believe that it would be an opportune time for other nations to see and learn what the Vhavenda have in terms of culture."

Date:31 August 2015

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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