KwaZulu-Natal seeks extra R20m for king’s legal battles over his ascendancy
The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government wants an additional R20m to fund King Misuzulu kaZwelithini’s legal battle over the Zulu throne in addition to this year’s allocation of R79m for the royal family.
The premier’s office, which is responsible for disbursing funds for the king’s financial and administrative support, made a request during the provincial treasury’s medium-term budget policy presentation.
The office of premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube said in a submission to the provincial treasury that it projects overspending by R59.4m in the financial year ending March 2024. “The department has also projected R20m regarding legal fees for court cases related to his majesty the king. The department has requested additional funding for transfer to the Zulu Royal House Trust to cater for this,” it said.
The amount is in addition to the financial year’s budget allocation for the royal household unit, responsible for the king’s upkeep and programmes, which stands at R79m, a R12m increase from the previous financial year.
The DA’s finance spokesperson, Francois Rodgers, said the party has always maintained that the king and royal household be financially independent.
“For some time the DA has been pushing commercialisation as a strategy on the agricultural land of his majesty, which would generate revenue, and further exploring the tourism opportunities around the history of the Zulu monarch and the Zulu nation,” he said. “If this had been adhered to we wouldn’t have to fund this out of the [provincial] coffers. We will be meeting with his majesty and will again outline our plan for his independence and financial sustainability in KZN,” he said.
The R20m request comes barely a month after Misuzulu’s uncles filed yet another court bid in an ongoing battle to overturn his ascendancy to the throne.
In papers filed at the Pietermaritzburg high court in which the premier is also a respondent, the king’s uncle, Prince Mbonisi, sought to interdict the monarch from accessing the budget allocated by the premier. Mbonisi said it is “irresponsible, irrational and an unreasonable exercise of public powers” for government departments to “ignore” the existence of the court case and recognise Misuzulu.
President Cyril Ramaphosa officially recognised Misuzulu as the Zulu monarch in 2022, entitling him to all the privileges that come with the position, despite the court challenge.
THE R20M REQUEST COMES BARELY A MONTH AFTER MISUZULU’S UNCLES FILED YET ANOTHER COURT BID IN AN ONGOING BATTLE