Nongoma - The process to appoint the next King for the Zulu monarch following the passing away of Queen Mantfombi Dlamini-Zulu, 65, will unfold in the coming weeks.
The process is expected to take place after the burial Dlamini-Zulu who passed away on Thursday at Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg surrounded by her kids.
At the time of her passing, the Zulu monarch was observing a three month mourning period which was expected to end towards the last days of June this year.
A statement by the royal court said even though the date of the queen’s burial was yet to be decided, the next step would be appointing someone to take over the throne.
“The royal house is yet to meet and make preparations for the burial of the Queen, thereafter we will make announcements (regarding the burial). After the burial of the Queen, the royal house will convene another meeting to decide who will take over the throne after the passing away of the queen,” the royal court said in a statement.
This announcement is expected to calm the nerves of the Zulu nation after it emerged that despite showing a united face in public, there is an ongoing fight in the royal house about who should be next on the throne.
This was seen after a royal cabal recently issued a statement saying it has appointed someone to advise the late queen. That statement was later rebutted by Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the nation’s traditional prime minister who said such statements are causing unnecessary confusion.
Meanwhile, mourning activities for the late queen who is the sister to the reigning eSwatini King Mswati III and daughter to the late King Sobhuza II are taking place at Khangela palace which is situated halfway between Nongoma and Pongola in northern KZN.
Her body is expected to come home on Saturday from Johannesburg.
As the mourning unfolds after the queen’s passing, the palace was a hive of activity with ordinary mourners moving in and out of the palace on Saturday morning. Among the mourners were a group of Shembe church worshippers who held their sacred Saturday prayer service inside the palace which is modelled along the Windsor castle of the British monarch.
By Saturday morning, no high profile mourner was seen walking into the palace, but there were expectations that later into the weekend, they would come. The district municipality of Zululand which houses Nongoma, the king's seat was busy setting up infrastructure in anticipation of welcoming more mourners. Among the infrastructure, they were setting up was providing water for the public and bringing in a fire fighting truck to be on stand by for emergencies.
IOL