AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini’s demand to be treated as the president’s equal — or his superior — has plunged his relationship with government to a new low, forcing the government to move national Heritage Day celebrations out of KwaZulu-Natal, senior officials say.
Insiders say the king insisted on being the keynote speaker, that President Cyril Ramaphosa speak before him and introduce him at what was meant to be a joint Heritage Day and uMkhosi weLembe celebration.
When government refused, they say, the king’s camp threatened to send amabutho (regiments) to disrupt the event.
Days before, the national celebration was abruptly moved to Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape, leaving the provincial government fuming over the last-minute reshuffle.
“The so-called king demanded to be the keynote speaker at the Heritage Day celebrations, although it was a government event that would have had to follow government protocols,” said a highly placed official.
“The man had the guts to demand to be the last speaker and that President Cyril Ramaphosa speak before him and introduce him. Minister [of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton] McKenzie tried to reason with him but he was having none of it. His people threatened to disrupt the event and it was eventually moved to the Western Cape.”
Insiders say the king also wanted the event staged at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban and refused to entertain explanations about government’s budget constraints.
They say such demands were unheard of under his father, King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, who had “understood and respected decorum”.
The king’s office has acknowledged that the two events were separated over protocol. His spokesperson said last month that government’s protocols “would clash” with those of the monarch.
uMkhosi weLembe, the commemoration of King Shaka traditionally held at KwaDukuza, went ahead separately at King Zwelithini Stadium in Umlazi.
McKenzie played down the fallout: “I went to see His Majesty myself. It was a warm, respectful meeting — jovial, even. We took photographs together afterwards. People don’t pose for pictures after threats.
“The decision to move the national Heritage Day event was mine. uMkhosi weLembe is the kingdom’s commemoration and deserves its own day and its own space, rather than being folded into a government event. I explained my view to His Majesty and asked for his blessing, which he graciously gave.
“My relationship with his majesty and the kingdom remains strong.”
Officials say the threat to disrupt the event was taken seriously after amabutho, led by cultural activists Ngizwe Mchunu and Nkosikhona “Phakelumthakathi” Ndabandaba, stormed the Ingonyama Trust’s rural economy and investment indaba at the Durban ICC on Wednesday, bringing proceedings to a halt.
The Heritage Day standoff is not the first time the king has allegedly demanded to be afforded the same treatment as a head of state. Government officials say he made similar demands around the SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government at the Durban ICC in August. “He was invited for the opening of the SADC summit and he committed to come to the closing ceremony but demanded that he wanted to address the heads of state,” said another senior government official.
“He did come but the leaders were finalising their decisions. He demanded to be received by the president, not the mayor or the premier, and to sit with the heads of state at the main table. When he was told this was not possible because of the established protocols of the event, he angrily left.”
The king has publicly complained that he was sidelined, asking why he was not invited to major gatherings on Zulu land. He told the Reed Dance at eMachobeni Royal Palace last month that he had been “tempted” to send regiments to disrupt the summit.
Relations have also soured over the king’s security. Government is withdrawing members of the Presidential Protection Service who were assigned to guard him in 2023, at the height of the succession feud after his father’s death. Under the law, PPS protection is reserved for the president, the deputy president, their predecessors and visiting heads of state. At uMkhosi weLembe, the king lashed out at the decision in an apparent swipe at acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia, calling the person behind it umgodoyi (a stray dog).
“Regiments… please get ready to protect me because there is umgodoyi planning to withdraw my protectors. I say they can take them away because, in any event, a king is protected by his regiments.”
Ndabandaba has since pledged to mobilise 10 000 amabutho to guard the king.
A senior official in the security cluster said the king was being difficult. A dedicated royal protection unit, funded by government, would continue to guard him. “Those are the protectors he is entitled to, and he knows this, but he keeps insisting on keeping the PPS guards. That was a temporary arrangement until the factional wars in the royal house subsided, which is now the case,” the official said. “He is ungrateful.”
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said police would not discuss the king’s security detail publicly.
The king’s spokesperson, Prince Mpiyakhe Buthelezi, had not responded to detailed questions at the time of going to publication.
- AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini demanded to be the keynote speaker at the national Heritage Day celebrations and for President Cyril Ramaphosa to speak before him and introduce him, leading to the government moving the event from KwaZulu-Natal to Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape.
- The king's camp threatened to send amabutho (regiments) to disrupt the event after government refused to meet his demands regarding speaking order and venue.
- The king wanted the event held at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban and rejected explanations about government budget constraints, a demand not made by his father, King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu.
- Government is withdrawing members of the Presidential Protection Service assigned to guard King Misuzulu, citing legal restrictions, which led the king to call the decision an insult and to mobilize amabutho for his protection.
- The king has made similar demands previously, such as at the SADC Summit in August, insisting on head-of-state treatment and proximity to leaders, and has publicly expressed feeling sidelined from major gatherings on Zulu land.
