Zulu King, Misuzulu KaZwelithini says he is not going to be dethroned as widely speculated.
And according to him, the ongoing challenges within the Zulu royal household are “ deliberately manufactured.”
He made this comment on Saturday in Umlazi, south of Durban, where he addressed a men’s march against gender-based violence organised by the Good Men Foundation.
The king’s comment was seen as an indirect reference to the ongoing feud between him and his traditional prime minister, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi and other traditional leaders in the province.
The King has also fallen out of favour with almost everyone in the royal family who was in the inner circle that helped him thwart off a challenge by Prince Simakade Zulu to ascend on the throne.
At the present moment, the King is going solo in the court case brought by Prince Simakade in the North Gauteng High Court (Pretoria).
Simakade is challenging the king’s coronation and wants the process to appoint him as flawed saying it should be set aside.
This comes after it was resolved by some Amakhosi in a meeting in Empangeni in May that Buthelezi should only file his crucial affidavit only if the King is going to revert to Strauss Daly Attorneys in Durban.
IOL understands that the King is forging ahead with filing his court papers using new lawyers from Richards Bay without Buthelezi's affidavit.
Another crucial, but missing affidavit, is that of Prince Thulani and of former Judge Jerome Ngwenya - a confidant of late King Goodwill Zwelithini.
Prince Thulani’s affidavit is crucial because it addresses the claims made by Prince Simakade before the high court relating to the May 2021 meeting that identified and nominated Misuzulu as the person to succeed his father, Goodwill Zwelithini.
He further claims it was flawed as it was attended by people who are not core members of the Zulu royal family and he wants it to be nullified and set aside.
In his detailed affidavit, Prince Thulani who was responsible for sending out invitations explains to the court the role of each and every person who was present.
He is even explaining that some of them never contributed to the meeting but were there as Prince Misuzulu’s support staff.
Commenting on the ongoing feud in the royal court which escalated last month when conflicting reports about his state of health were issued, the King said the internal challenges are deliberately manufactured and asked his people to stay clear of them.
“I ask you to ignore the ongoing problems in the royal court and not take them to heart because they are deliberately manufactured.
“They can be easily resolved, but they are deliberately manufactured, the nation must soldier on and I will soldier on and lead the nation. There are those talks from the sideways that the King will be dethroned, I am not going anywhere. Let me tell you, my people, I am not going anywhere, I will work with you until the very end,” he told the gathering.
Regarding the scourge of gender-based violence, the King lamented that KwaZulu-Natal is the epicentre of the scourge and said its time men in the province change their behaviour.
“It is shocking to hear that in the entire African continent, KwaZulu-Natal as a province and Durban as a city we will lead them. We can’t be proud about this, it’s a shame.”
sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za
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