Video by Sihle Mavuso
Durban - Fighting to the very end, Prince Mbonisi and other Zulu royal family members still insist that they don't recognise Misuzulu KaZwelithini as the king of the Zulu nation, adding his coronation on Saturday is "without the blessing" of them as elders and core royal family members.
Their strong assertions come only two days before President Cyril Ramaphosa hands over the certificate of recognition to King Misuzulu kaZwelithini, concluding his official ascension to the throne.
Prince Mbonisi, Prince Mathuba and Prince Vulindlela had gone to ground for months after losing a court battle at the Pretoria High Court on July 28 this year. The battle was meant to stop the coronation of the king, which by then was billed for August 28.
The court ruled that the matter was not urgent as claimed in the court papers and they have recourse if they want to take the matter to court. Following that legal setback, they went underground and did not even try to interdict the ritual of entering the sacred royal kraal at KwaKhangelamankenga palace on August 20.
The only attempt to legally stop the ritual came from Princess Ntombizosuthu Zulu-Duma and her sister Princess Ntandoyenkosi. However, their attempt fell felt when the Pietermaritzburg High Court struck their case off the roll.
Emerging from the wilderness on Thursday, the three uncles maintained he is not the king, claiming that he is a product which is flawed, since they, as core members of the royal council as appointed by the late King Goodwill Zwelithini, oversee all matters of the royal household.
This was said during a media briefing in uMhlanga to vent their dissatisfaction.
Prince Mbonisi claimed that they have been sidelined on numerous occasions involving succession processes.
He said it was painful and worrying that their "son" referring to King Misuzulu (who he calls Prince Misuzulu) was being drawn into politics and could not help but watch because he did not have powers.
He lamented that the king's wives were neglected and were left out in the cold about the developments regarding the throne.
Prince Mbonisi said according to them, there was no Zulu king and confirmed that they would not be part of the ceremony where Ramaphosa will officially hand over the certificate of recognition.
"We have never been given a chance by the president. As a family, we did not follow the laws set by the government, we wrote letters to the president trying to explain our side of the story, but he never responded. We feel that he (president) interfered because he failed to listen to us and sided with the few,“ he said.
When quizzed about their next move, Mbonisi said he was still prepared to smoke the peace pipe with everyone, including Misuzulu.
WATCH: #PrinceVulindlela said the ructions over the throne have dragged on for long and they are now tired of it. He insists they are ready to meet with #kingmisuzulu but they don't recognise him as king. #coronation 🎥 by @ZANewsFlash pic.twitter.com/S1VTZZehMn
— IOL News (@IOL) October 27, 2022
However, he was emphatic that he meets them as Prince Misuzulu, not as king, because according to them, there is none in the Zulu kingdom.
He said as the family they would convene a meeting and leave out the politicians who have sinister motives.
"We don't have power over government. Why the function is taken to the stadium while there are palaces?
“The nation has been informed but as fathers, no one has told us anything. We don't hate him (King Misuzulu) how one can hate his child?
“We are taken for granted as his uncles, we can even express our views simple because we do not have powers. The late king served through various periods and he was adaptive to the times, how can we refrain from that? Mbonisi asked.
On other internal issues of the royal family, Prince Mathuba raised the issue of the burial of King Misuzulu's mother, Queen Manftombi who was buried in KwaKhangelamankengane as opposed to the Emakhosini royal cemetery in Ulundi where the rest of the royals were buried.
WATCH: Among the internal royal issues that prince Mathuba raised during their press conference in Durban was how the late Queen Mantfombi, the mother of King Misuzulu was not buried with other royal family members at eMakhosini royal cemetery. He says this is not normal. @IOL pic.twitter.com/Dh386HS7Fm
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) October 27, 2022
He said this was a serious issue among them as elders because they were not informed and they won't be able to explain it.
"They are setting up different royal burial sites and this is done by outsiders," he claimed.
He also alleged that the late King Zwelithini's palace was raided by the police special task force and army in search of Prince Simakade, who also challenges for the throne.
Prince Mathuba alleged that police broke doors and windows searching for Prince Simakade, saying it was something they had never heard of before.
sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za
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