New Zulu king’s chaotic succession
Goodwill Zwelithini’s son Misuzulu is the new Zulu king – but his position is being challenged by members of his family
APRIVATE schoolboy with a flair for rugby. A man with a love of farming. A relatively young ruler who holds the future of the Zulu nation in his hands. All these are ways to describe King Misuzulu Sinqobile kaZwelithini – the newly appointed leader of the largest ethnic group in South Africa, who’ll preside over 11 million people and some of the most fertile agricultural land in the country.
Misuzulu (46) was recently named successor to his father, the late Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu – but his appointment was chaotic and intriguing enough to make anything offered up in Game of Thrones look tame. Add to this a cast of characters so large and complicated even Shakespeare would have a hard time unravelling it all.
Here, in a nutshell, is what’s been going on. Pandemonium recently broke out at the Kwakhangelamankengane Royal Palace in Nongoma, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), when it was announced Prince Misuzulu Zulu had been named Zwelithini’s successor in Queen Shiyiwe Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu’s will.
Although Mantfombi – who died in mysterious circumstances in April aged 65 – was Zwelithini’s third spouse, she was also known as the “great wife” because she was the only one of the late king’s six wives with royal blood.
Mantfombi was the daughter of the late eSwatini king Sobhuza II and in her will she stated that, as a result of her status, it was in her power to decide who the new king would be. Misuzulu is her and Zwelithini’s firstborn son.
But a faction within the family is vehe
mently opposed to the appointment. The spokesperson for this group, Prince Thokozani Zulu, says Mantfombi didn’t have the right to name a successor – only Zwelithini did. And the late king failed to appoint one in his will.
Two of Zwelithini’s daughters claim they don’t believe their father wrote or signed the will and are planning to challenge it in court. If the will is found to be fraudulent, legal experts say that by extension this nullifies Mantfombi’s will and the appointment of the new king will be set aside.
The dispute over the throne is far from over, says procedural- law expert Llewellyn Curlewis. “Ructions will continue, at least until the high court finalises the application challenging the authenticity of King Zwelithini’s will.”
For now, though, Misuzulu is the appointed man on the throne.
Themba Madingiza, a lecturer in African literature at the University of Johannesburg, believes Misuzulu is the rightful successor. “He has full royal blood from his father and mother’s side and he’s the eldest son anyway,” he says.
“If you look at the history of the Zulu kingdom, that’s how it’s been happening – either it’s the eldest son in the family or the son from the great wife.”
MISUZULU was born in 1974 in Kwahlabisa and matriculated from St Charles College, an elite private school in Pietermaritzburg, in 1996. He was a keen rugby player– extremely fast and strong, according to the school’s principal, Allen van Blerk.
“Misuzulu went on our first schoolboy rugby tour to New Zealand in 1994 led by retired headmaster Ronnie Kuhn. He was a strong sportsman who played wing,” Van Blerk says.
Barbara Thorpe, boarding secretary at the school, remembers the future king as having “a deep love of farming and cattle, which he spoke about often”.
Misuzulu later pursued a degree in international studies in Jacksonville, Florida in the US.
The appointed king’s personality is “somewhat of a mystery” because the royal family hardly share details of their personal lives, Madingiza says.
He’s known to have a son, possibly out of wedlock as he appears to be unmarried, which will have to change now that he’s the Zulu ruler. A king must be married to be properly installed as monarch and in order for his son to succeed him, according to Zulu Kingdom law.
Madingiza says that should Misuzulu’s appointment be finalised, he’ll bring a new wave of leadership and could be a breath of fresh air after his father, who died in March at the age of 72 having ruled since 1968.
“I hope the king can bridge the gap between Zulu traditional customs and the democratic South Africa,” he adds. “The youth is becoming more modern. They move to the cities and that’s where they tend to forget their roots. So his role will be to bridge the gap between the old and the new.
“The family of the Zulu king will have to think of creating a social media page so they can also be in touch. The new king must continue preserving the Zulu culture but at the same time it has to be in line with what’s happening today in the modern world.
“I think the younger people will relate to him much better because he’s much younger than his father.”
Political analyst Ntsikelelo Breakfast says the king will have to work side by side with the government to respond to the Covid-19 crisis and also to try to woo investors into the province because KZN has “a challenge of underdevelopment, inequality and poverty”.
Breakfast agrees that the king’s youth could be a plus. “He needs to find ways and means to respond to the challenges young people face. He’s a young person, so at least he can relate to them better.”
HIS first and foremost task will be to unify and bring stability to the royal family and restore its image. This is important, Madingiza says. “The kingdom represents an 11 million-people-strong nation. It’s the largest in the country and Zulu as a language has an influence on other language speakers as well,” he says.
Experts agree that certain major customs such as the controversial reed dance – where virgin Zulu maidens from across the country and neighbouring eSwatini converge annually to vow to practise celibacy until marriage – will continue.
“The Zulu nation is really proud of its culture and should continue with practices such as the reed dance, especially with regards to tackling teenage pregnancy and encouraging abstinence among the youth,” Breakfast says.
Modernising or changing these practices is unlikely. “There are still elders who’ll surround the king. I don’t think they’ll take kindly to modernising such customs. Cultural traditions are important to them.”
Madingiza believes Misuzulu will be expected to rule differently in “terms of being more engaged with the people on the ground”.
“In most cases when we hear about things regarding the Zulu Kingdom it’s from news reports, not the family itself. They hardly share things on social media platforms but that could change.”
But first the king needs to weather the current storm swirling around the palace walls.
‘HE HAS FULL ROYAL BLOOD FROM HIS FATHER AND MOTHER’S SIDE, AND HE’S ELDEST SON’