WATCH: Shembe member refuses to kneel before King Zwelithini

Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini received a warm welcome from most of the Shembe church members while visiting one of the members in KwaZulu-Natal. In a video that has been circulating on Facebook, the Zulu king can be seen shaking hands with the church members who kneel to him while in their church uniform, with some taking videos of the interaction.

All goes well until one of the members opts to bow instead of going all the way down to the ground on his knees for a handshake, a gesture the king clearly does not seem to appreciate. He instructs the man to kneel like his fellow church members for the handshake. But the man is having none of it and gestures to the monarch in a way that makes it clear he thinks the king can keep his handshake.

The video, which now has more than 100 000 shares and more than 700 comments, has seen Facebook users debating who was wrong in the situation. Some say the Shembe member was wrong to have disrespected his king like that.

“When Africans see the British and other Europeans respect their kings, people are wowed and admire foreign things….He is the King of one of the most respected nations in the world and he is African so that to me is respect earned ….people need to stop thinking about themselves and start to understand their culture,” said one user who condemned the church member’s actions.

Another asked if the man’s actions were an indication of the Shembe church taking over the Zulu nation under the cover of religion.

“I also wouldn’t kneel before him. Nothing special about him other than the family he just happened to be born into. The one person for whom I have the most respect and admiration for on this planet [my mother] doesn’t expect me to kneel before her but I’d do it in a heartbeat if she did,” said one user, who said the Zulu monarch was expecting too much.

Watch the video shared by Dumisani Sdumza Shabangu below: