Prince Mbonisi and Prince Vulindlela speaking to the media. Picture: Sihle Mavuso/IOL
Durban - Publicly commenting for the first time since King Misuzulu was fully coronated at the Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban on October 29, three senior Zulu royal family members have slammed the historic ceremony as wasteful expenditure.
In a joint statement sent to IOL on Wednesday, Prince Mbonisi, Prince Vulindlela and Prince Mathuba – all half-brothers of the late King Goodwill Zwelithini – stuck to their guns that King Misuzulu (they call him Prince Misuzulu) is not king.
They insisted that the royal family had deviated from the proud teachings of the late king and allowed itself to be infiltrated, hence they have no rightful king.
They insisted that the royal house never properly met to select the next king and that the one on the throne is a product of a rushed process to fulfil certain nefarious objectives.
“We saw recent developments where taxpayers' money was wasted during an event held at the Moses Mabhida stadium and the President Cyril Ramaphosa, was in attendance.
JUST IN: Senior Zulu Princes, Mbonisi, Vulindlela and Mathuba have once again revived the fight for the Zulu throne. In a press statement, the royals denounced the recent coronation of King Misuzulu at the Moses Mabhida stadium as a serious waste of taxpayers' money. @IOL
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) November 9, 2022
“It is annoying that a democratic government which has the support of the majority of the people can do this.
“A democratic government ignoring its legislation on how a king should be identified, thus depriving us as the royal family the right to pick the right one.
"This is unheard off,” they said in their joint statement.
Furthermore, they claimed that Ramaphosa’s decision to endorse the king was ill-thought and he was misled.
“We believe that the president was misled to go ahead and recognise the king even when there is an ongoing court case.
"We frown at this shameful act by a government of the people, we don’t like it.”
The three princes fighting for the throne are not new to the matter.
They have been to court, and they have tried to interdict the king from addressing some cultural events and lost.
A day before the coronation at Moses Mabhida took place, they convened a press conference in Durban where they insisted that they don't recognise King Misuzulu KaZwelithini as the king of the Zulu nation.
They added that his coronation was "without the blessing" of them as elders and core royal family members.
At the present moment, there are two court cases involving the throne. There is one before the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) and there is one before the Pretoria High Court.
The one before the SCA is the one where Prince Mbonisi, Queen Sibongile Dlamini and her two daughters, Princess Ntombisuthu Zulu-Duma and Ntandoyesizwe are trying to set aside Judge Isaac Madondo’s ruling which paved the way for King Misuzulu to take the throne.
The one in Pretoria is where Prince Simakade, the first-born son of the late king wants to have the recognition set aside and the prestigious throne conferred on him.
sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za
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