The alleged tiff between AmaZulu King MisuZulu kaZwelithini and his traditional prime minister Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, which has been playing out in the public gallery, has ignited unresolved hostilities between the IFP and the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal.
The pair, who are the most prominent figures in the AmaZulu royal house, have been butting heads for several weeks, with the latest being contradictory statements issued by Buthelezi and newly appointed king’s spokesperson Prince Africa Zulu.
While Buthelezi had notified the nation that the king was apparently poisoned and had been admitted to the hospital in the Kingdom of eSwatini, Zulu hastily issued a statement that the king was in good health, saying he was undergoing a routine medical check-up.
“It appears there is an orchestrated agenda and a desperate narrative to communicate defamatory and baseless claims of His Majesty’s ill-health,” lashed out Zulu.
MisuZulu himself on Tuesday released a video refuting the claims of being frail.
In the short video shared on social media, he said: “I was scheduled to do my medical check-ups anyway, which I do from time to time, and I just said ok, I will go ahead and do my medical check-ups in eSwatini.
“Not because I have been poisoned, I am not poisoned. I am well, I feel 100%.”
Prominent IFP leader and mayor of Zululand Thulasizwe Buthelezi joined the fray and accused Zulu of being a politically hired gun who wanted to erase Buthelezi’s legacy.
“The emergence of Prince Africa Zulu as a self-styled spin doctor of the royal family spells disaster for the Zulu nation,” he said.
“Prince Africa’s persistent trend of undermining the authority and contradicting the public statements of the king’s prime minister, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, is a politically calculated ploy sponsored by the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal.”
The ANC in the province did not hold back, saying the Zululand mayor was delusional and labelled him an attention-seeker.
The party also said it had deployed former health minister Zweli Mkhize to mediate between the king and his traditional prime minister.
However, on Wednesday Buthelezi fired a salvo, arguing that he would not seek ANC’s assistance to resolve royal affairs. He insisted that there is no breakdown in his relationship with the king.
It is not for the first time that attempts have been set in motion to resolve perceived anonymity between the ANC and the IFP in the province.
In its desperate bid to hang on to local municipalities it had lost during the 2021 municipal elections, the ANC reached out to the IFP, but as part of the conditions of entering into a coalition government with the ruling party, the IFP said the ANC should commit to honour the legacy of Buthelezi.
The negotiations were eventually scuppered following a political fallout and disagreements between the two parties.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa.
