AmaZulu King MisuZulu KaZwelithini, with an annual budget of about R79-million, is without a doubt ranked as one of South Africa’s most pampered monarchs.
These figures are contained in the 2023/24 financial-year documents of the KwaZulu-Natal government. This is the money that the provincial government has spent for the royal household, mainly for the king’s upkeep.
As a sole trustee of Ingonyama Trust, an entity established in 1994 controlling over 2.8-million vast of land previously owned by what was known as the KwaZulu government, the king has a say in the running of the affairs including who is nominated as chairperson of the board to oversee the entity.
The trust also generates R90-million a year from leasing the land. The board is allocated an annual budget and accounts to parliament.
It also collects rental fees from government departments and private businesses operating in the tribal lands, and also collects royalties from mining companies.
In addition, the entity receives just over R30-million from the provincial department of agriculture, rural and land reform to conduct its affairs
The king also gets a monthly salary equivalent to that of a chief director in the public service, which is above R1.5-million a year.
Strained relations
King MisuZulu KaZwelithini stands to lose these streams of income after strained relations with his siblings and some senior royals put his grip of the contentious throne in a precarious position.
A cultural expert who spoke to Sunday World in the aftermath of the judgment by the high court in Pretoria on Monday, which nullified the king’s recognition by President Cyril Ramaphosa, is concerned about the deteriorating relations between the king and some members of the royal family.
Judge Norman Davis said Ramaphosa erred when in terms of section 8(3) a and b of the Traditional Khoi-San Leadership Act 2019 endorsed MisuZulu as the undisputed king despite his family opposition to his ascendancy.
“In terms of the requirements of the act, the royal family identified Prince MisuZulu Sinqobile kaZwelithini Zulu as the person who qualifies in terms of customary law and customs to assume the position of king, and applied to the president for recognition,” said the Presidency at the time.
But cultural expert, professor Musa Xulu, said while the judgment was not surprising, more concerning for the disputed king is his sour relations with key royal family members.
He is now a prince
“As it stands, the throne is vacant until the king lodges an official appeal. The judgment, which set aside the recognition of King MisuZulu by the president of the Republic of South Africa, was not entirely unexpected,” said Xulu.
“The judgment set its eyes on the Zulu royal family meetings of the 7th and 12th of May 2021, which nominated the then Prince MisuZulu as the next king of AmaZulu.
“Those meetings are disputed in terms of legality and inclusivity of the Zulu royal houses.”
He noted that Davis ordered that the meeting which nominated MisuZulu as an heir-apparent be investigated, saying the issue of nomination of the next Zulu king will have to go back to the Zulu royal household.
“A leader must emerge there in the royal family to guide the processes and ensure compliance. There are no guarantees that they will renominate the king or for now Prince MisuZulu again, looking at the internal dynamics.
“The second is that of the president of the republic whose recognition certificate for King MisuZulu was set aside. This means until there is an appeal, the certificate is of no effect.”
President ignored panel’s advice
The court took a swipe at Ramaphosa, saying although he was aware of internal disputes and had called for a panel led by former KwaZulu-Natal premier Willies Mchunu to investigate, he did not take heed of its advice, which was to put the recognition process on hold until internal disputes around succession were settled.
“The implications are that unless there are appeals from the president and the king, the court ruling may stand,” said Xulu.
Davis insisted in his judgment that the court was only ceased with whether the king was properly identified as the heir following the normal customary law practice and whether Ramaphosa correctly used the law in recognising MisuZulu as AmaZulu king.
Since ascending to the contentious throne, MisuZulu has seen no peace with his siblings who oppose his appointment to lead one of the biggest nations in Africa.
They argue that his appointment was flawed and did not follow due customary law practice.
The court ordered Ramaphosa to appoint a committee to conduct an investigation into allegations that MisuZulu, the third-born child of King Goodwill Zwelithini KaBhekuZulu, was not properly identified as the king.
His half-brother Prince Simakade KaZwelithini demands that Ramaphosa’s decision be rescinded. He is backed by Prince Mbonisi Zulu, the brother to King Zwelithini.
