Battle for the Zulu throne moves back to court

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The battle for control of the Zulu throne has taken another dramatic turn, days before King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini is scheduled to preside over the annual uMkhosi Womhlanga or reed dance for the first time since being declared monarch.

Prince Simakade ka Zwelithini has approached the Gauteng high court to challenge President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recognition of his half-brother Misuzulu as the Zulu monarch.

Simakade has also asked the court to order the president to recognise him as the Zulu king, and to set aside the decisions of the meeting of the royal house last May that identified King Misuzulu as isilo (king).

The would-be monarch, who held his own “entering the kraal” ceremony last month, wants the court to declare the same ritual carried out by Misuzulu — with the backing of the provincial government and traditional leaders from across the province on 28 August — invalid.

The new legal offensive by Simakade — one of three princes who had made a claim for the throne — comes on top of a challenge to the validity of King Goodwill Zwelithini ka Bhekuzulu’s will by the daughters of the late king’s first wife, Queen Sibongile Zulu, princesses Ntandoyenkosi Zulu and Ntombizosuthu Zulu-Duma. 

The supreme court of appeal last month granted the princesses leave to appeal after the high court in Pietermaritzburg had dismissed their challenge to the validity of the will of the late monarch.

There is also an ongoing criminal investigation by the Hawks into allegations that the version of the late king’s will naming Misuzulu as heir is a forgery.

Simakade has also written to KwaZulu-Natal premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube telling her to move this weekend’s reed dance from the eNyokeni palace at Nongoma to another venue.

Simakade reportedly warned the premier that the palace is a no-go area for the sitting monarch and that there might be bloodshed should another venue not be found and the event go ahead.

At the time of writing, the province was still pushing ahead with the annual ceremony, which is one of a number of traditional practices reintroduced during the late king’s reign, which ended with his death on 12 March last year.

The dispute over the monarchy — which comes with a R66-million annual budget from the provincial government, support services and personal security — began shortly thereafter.

The Zulu king is also the sole trustee of the Ingonyama Trust, which administers about three million hectares of land under traditional control on his behalf, and raises revenue from commercial leases, mining rights and other royalties it collects.

In a notice of motion submitted to the Gauteng division of the high court on Friday, Simakade’s lawyers said he would bring an application to have the identification of Misuzulu at a meeting of the royal family convened on 14 May last year by Mangosuthu Buthelezi — in his role as traditional prime minister to the Zulu monarch — declared “unlawful and invalid”.

The application is set to be heard on 15 December.

The application would ask the court to review and set aside the president’s decision to recognise Misuzulu as isilo on 22 March on the basis that it was unlawful and invalid, along with the subsequent gazetting of the decision.

It would also seek an order reviewing and setting aside the “coronation or recognition ceremony” on 28 August “which purported to formalise the second respondent (Misuzulu) as isilo”.

Simakade’s lawyers said they would also request the court to interdict Buthelezi from convening a meeting of the royal family or any other persons to identify any person as isilo.

They will ask the court to confirm the decision of meetings of the royal family on 5 May, 21 May and 3 September last year — which declared Simakade as monarch —  and to order that the president recognise him and install him as king within 30 days of the order being granted.

An alternative order, compelling Ramaphosa to appoint an “investigative committee” in terms of section 8 (4) and 8 (5) of the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act to probe “evidence and allegations” that the process of appointing Misuzulu was “not done in terms of customary law and customs” will also be sought.

This will include declaring section 8 (5) of the Leadership Act, “only to the extent necessary” to be constitutionally invalid in that it fails to provide the participants in the meetings which identified Simakade as monarch with a forum to make representations on the matter.

Thereafter, the president should allow Simakade and the participants in those meetings to make their representations on the process, before taking a decision on who to recognise as monarch.

Ramaphosa has also been asked to provide Simakade lawyers with all minutes, memorandums and records of the meetings at which the decision to recognise Misuzulu was taken within 15 days.

The respondents in the matter — who include the national and provincial house of traditional leaders, the minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs, Dube-Ncube and the royal family members who chose Misuzulu and Buthelezi — have 30 days to file their notice of intention to contest the matter.

Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, confirmed that they had been served with the notice of motion.

“The presidency will first look at the court papers filed and respond accordingly through the courts,” Magwenya said.

Spokespersons for Dube-Ncube and the cooperative governance and traditional affairs minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, did not respond to calls and messages from the Mail & Guardian.

Prince Thulani Zulu, spokesperson for the monarch, refused to talk to M&G.

Buthelezi said in a statement that court documents had been delivered to his home indicating that Simakade would be bringing the court application.

“In due course, these documents will be considered by my lawyers and a response

will be provided, as necessary,” Buthelezi said.

He said Misuzulu had been appointed through the proper process and had been lawfully recognised by the president.

The appointment had been  formally gazetted, “making his majesty not only the de facto but also the de jure king of the Zulu nation”, Buthelezi said.

Buthelezi said he had referred the threats regarding the reed dance to the minister of police, Bheki Cele, because of the “threat of bloodshed”.

“None of the litigation brought to stop his majesty’s ascension to throne has been

successful,” Buthelezi said. “Preparations are now under way for His Majesty to formally receive his certificate from the president of the republic.

“It is a tremendous pity that Prince Simakade continues these attempts to change the facts of reality, for it creates discomfort in the Zulu nation on behalf of his majesty our king.”