As much as the official installation yesterday of Prince MisuZulu kaZwelithini as leader of the Zulu nation was a beautiful affair to watch, we – like many other concerned South Africans – are troubled by the bitter infighting among the Zulu royal family over the coveted throne.
By all accounts, MisuZulu’s installation does not mark the beginning of the end of the royal war.
There has been no peace in the royal house since the death of King Goodwill Zwelithini KaBhekuZulu in March last year, which, a month later, was followed by that of Queen Regent Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu.
Before she died, Queen Mantfombi had already named MisuZulu (her eldest son born out of her marriage with Zwelithini) as the next Zulu monarch, a move that set the scene for a bitter succession battle that is unprecedented in the recent
history of the Zulu royal family.
The spectacle all began when Zwelithini’s daughters, princesses Ntandoyenkosi Zulu and Ntombizosuthu Zulu-Duma, approached the courts to challenge the authenticity of their late father’s will, which they believed would delegitimise MisuZulu’s succession to the throne if it was found to be fraudulent.
They were joined in court by their mother and first Zulu queen, Sibongile Winifred Zulu, who argued that – because she was married in community of property – she was entitled to half of Zwelithini’s estate, believed to be worth more than R340-million and rumoured be the real source of the royal dispute.
They have since been granted leave to appeal the Pietermaritzburg High Court ruling following the court’s dismissal of their claims. That paved the way for MisuZulu’s coronation.
In a new twist, a faction of the royal family decided last weekend to crown one of Zwelithini’s sons, Prince Simakade, as king of the Zulu nation.
The current status and events surrounding the Zulu kingship is deeply worrying. It is a situation that threatens to get out of hand. Even as the Zulu nation prepared for yesterday’s installation of MisuZulu, the situation was on Thursday further muddied by some of Zwelithini’s brothers, who unilaterally decided to name Prince Buzabazi as the next Zulu king.
This despite other members of the royal house and government officially recognising MisuZulu as king.
It appears that much as yesterday’s court bid by the princesses to stop MisuZulu’s coronation failed, the push by different warring factions to snatch the throne is not going to end.
Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s role in preserving the Zulu customs has so far been remarkable. He has held firm in ensuring that tradition is followed and pretenders to the throne are ignored.
The stakes are high. And so are tempers. We hope the government is closely monitoring this situation and putting measures in place to prevent it from descending into violence. Efforts must be made to bring together different factions.
MisuZulu must himself try to rise above the occasion and avoid being triumphalist. He must invest his energy into unifying his nation at this moment when divisions threaten to split his people.
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