AmaZulu King MisuZulu kaZwelithini has suffered a heavy blow after it emerged that a section of the amakhosi and izinduna (headmen) leadership have broken ties with him and are throwing their lot with his fierce rival and self-proclaimed “king” Simakade kaZwelithini.
Simakade is the late AmaZulu king ’s first born son. He insists he is the rightful heir to the throne and has taken the matter to court and is set for October 16-18 at the Gauteng high court.
He also wants a committee to be set up to determine in terms of the Zulu customary law who the legitimate king should be.
The pair have become sworn enemies. Simakade did not attend the certificate awarding ceremony in October 29 last year in Durban where President Cyril Ramaphosa was involved in a coronation ceremony that certified MisuZulu as king. The Pietermaritzburg High Court previously ruled that MisuZulu coronation should go ahead as his claim to the throne could not be factually be disputed.
Sunday World has been reliably told several traditional leaders have cut ties with the king following his public spat with the long serving traditional prime minister Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
Buthelezi served as traditional prime minister of MisuZulu’s father, the late king Zwelithini kaBhekuZulu, and his grandfather, Cyprian Nyangayezizwe kaSolomon.
A traditional leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the amakhosi were regretting supporting MisuZulu in the first place. “Amak
hosi are more loyal and sympathetic to uMntwana (Buthelezi) than the king. Several izinduna and amakhosi are now regretting they supported him during his bitter fight with uMntwana Simakade.
“Some of them fear speaking out openly showing their support to Simakade because it will be interpreted as selling out,” explained one traditional leader not authorised to speak to the media.
Another traditional leader who spoke on condition of anonymity said the dissenting voices by traditional leaders against the AmaZulu king were increasing.
He alleged that at a ceremony held at the KwaZulu-Natal legislature on Thursday to debate King Zwelithini’s statue, scheduled to be erected at its precincts, only a handful of amakhosi and izinduna accompanied him. They also lamented that in a meeting recently organised by Buthelezi, the former IFP leader “poured his heart out, lamenting the king’s aloofness”.
Indonsa Yesizwe, a think tank comprising academics and cultural experts supporting the Zulu monarch, explained that without the amakhosi and other key traditional structures, the king will be weak.
Dr Zakhele Shamase, respected cultural expert and senior contemporary studies lecturer at the University of Zululand, said: “While his father was dragged into politics between the IFP and the ANC, his difficulties have to do with his relationship with uMntwana (Buthelezi).
This will certainly have a negative significant impact on his throne, especially with the pending court case.”
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