The new King of the AmaZulu nation MisuZulu kaZwelithini, who scored a major victory this week after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that he was the undisputed heir to the contentious throne, is breaking away from long-held cultural norms and beliefs.
This week, it emerged MisuZulu, first son born to the late AmaZulu king Zwelithini kaBhekuZulu and his third wife Queen Shiyiwe Mantfombi-Dlamini, had sent a delegation to eSwatini to negotiate ilobolo for his soon-to-be second wife Nozizwe Mulela kaMakhubu.
The AmaZulu monarch has already paid ilobolo and entered a civil union with his first wife Ntokozo Mayisela of Newcastle, a rural town in KwaZulu-Natal known for coal and steel production. It was widely believed that the 47-year-old king would go for someone of royal blood as his queen, ideally Princess Wezizwe Sigcau of the amaMpondo royalty. The pair reportedly have a son.
Others predicted that he would follow in his father’s footsteps and wed a virgin who attends the annual uMkhosi Womhlanga (reed dance) ceremony, but King MisuZulu had his own preferences.
Dr Maxwell Shamase, University of Zululand Deputy Dean of Teaching and Learning in the School of Arts and contemporary culture expert, said MisuZulu was carving his own path.
“Culture is not rigid, and it should be expected that the new king will not do things exactly like his father. His reign as a king will be shaped by his life experiences and his level of education. The king met kaMayisela many years ago and presumably she was a virgin and they had children and he decided to take her as his first wife. Besides that, the house of traditional leadership is constantly evolving to keep up with the times,” said Dr Shamase.
KaMayisela, 36, and MisuZulu met in 2009 and have two children. She is a music enthusiast having studied popular jazz and music. On the other hand, Mulela kaMakhubu is a career woman who was recently appointed as managing director of state-owned eSwatini Bank. She was previously head of business banking at FNB eSwatini and relationship manager for Standard Bank Eswatini. She graduated from the Western Cape-based Stellenbosch University.
MisuZulu’s father Zwelithini had kept to the old tradition of choosing most of his wives at the reed dance ceremony. His youngest and sixth wife Queen Zola Zesuliwe Mafu was 18-years of age and a virgin when she became Zwelithini’s wife and gave him Prince Nhlendlayenkosi, the last born among his 28 children.
University of KwaZulu-Natal heritage and indigenous knowledge systems expert Dr Gugu Mazibuko said it was not compulsory for MisuZulu to take a virgin girl, saying his father took his former girlfriends and made them his wives while he also took maidens.
While Ramaphosa on Wednesday recognized MisuZulu as the undisputed king of about 15 million Zulus, giving green light to his coronation, the faction known as the royal dissidents led by Zwelithini’s brother Prince Mbonisi
Zulu said they will challenge the move by Ramaphosa in court.
The faction also said it will today announce its own king, meaning the AmaZulu nation is likely to have two kings.
Princess Wezizwe Sigcau likely to be king’s ‘third and great wife’
Sunday World has established through senior royal sources that the reason why MisuZulu did not take Princess Wezizwe Sigcau as his first wife was so that he can later announce her as the third and great wife of the royal house, the same status that his late mother occupied.
“Nothing has been confirmed yet, some of these issues are kept a secret. But it is likely that princess Wezizwe will be announced as the great wife because she is the only one of royal blood and they have a child together, said the source.
On Saturday, it also emerged that AmaZulu royal elders paid 25 cows to the Mulela kaMakhubu’s family in the early hours of the morning making her the official second wife of the king.
Additional reporting by Sihle Mkhize.
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