AmaZulu king MisuZulu kaZwelethini will not be dragooned into appointing the late IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s son as the traditional prime minister of the AmaZulu nation.
This was said by Prince Africa Zulu, the king’s spokesperson, in a candid interview with Sunday World last week.
Instead, Zulu said the king would be guided by the ancestors on who to appoint to replace Buthelezi, who died last month.
“The king will not be coerced to make a particular appointment to satisfy certain people. There are also no criteria that whoever is appointed should possess certain qualifications and to be an inkosi. The king will appoint whoever he wants to, be it a prince or a politician,” he told Sunday World.
Zulu was responding to calls from certain quarters within the Zulu royal house that Buthelezi’s eldest son Prince Zuzifa Buthelezi, should replace his father and ascend the coveted position.
There was a general consensus that he had spent sufficient time with his father, who apparently was grooming him to replace him.
At some stage there were allegations the late politician had strongly canvassed for his son to succeed him, but MisuZulu rejected the proposal.
At the time, the king wanted his cousin Prince Mthokozisi Mahlobo to be made deputy prime minister, a plan that the late Buthelezi shot down on grounds that it had never happened before.
Sunday World understands that the Zulu king told his close allies that he had no intention of appointing Prince Zuzifa.
This because during the mourning period of his father, who served three kings as traditional prime minister, Prince Zuzifa and his sister Princess Phumzile lambasted the monarch as having driven his father to the grave.
They claimed their father died an unhappy man after they butted heads with the king, who apparently used vulgar and unsavoury language directed at him.
Sunday World revealed in September that former health minister and ANC heavyweight Zweli Mkhize was among the names thrown in the hat to occupy the strategic position.
This includes Prince Mthokozisi, but he appears to be on the back burner after his relationship with the king deteriorated.
Another name that is considered a leading contender is that of Prince Vanana Zulu of the KwaMinyamanzi royal house.
Vanana has been one of a few senior royals who staunchly supported MisuZulu in his legal battle with his siblings, who want him thrown off the throne.
But Prince Thulani Zulu, who served as the late AmaZulu king’s Zwelithini kaBhekuZulu and MisuZulu’s spokesperson before his sudden resignation, explained that most senior royals supported Prince Zuzifa.
“The Buthelezis have handled the royal affairs with much care and with delicacy and they are of royal blood.
“That is why we want Prince Zuzifa to be given the role and there is no one else better suited for the responsibility,”
