Zulu king to call a meeting with royal family as battle for the throne rages on

Zulu King Misuzulu is expected to call an emergency meeting with the houses of the Zulu royal family as the succession battle rages on.

In the latest installment of the battle for the throne, Zulu traditional prime minister Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi said a meeting would be called by the king following a letter that was allegedly sent by members of the royal family to KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala.

“His majesty believes that this meeting is both urgent and necessary due to the confusion that has been created in the public space on who constitutes the ‘royal family’ and who speaks on behalf of the royal family.

“There have been several voices purporting to speak for the family, which have at times been assisted out of ignorance by the media. This has resulted in misinformation and confusion within the Zulu nation,” added Buthelezi.

During the briefing on Tuesday, he read out the letter which was allegedly sent by the late King Goodwill Zwelithini’s sister, Princess Thembi.

The letter is asking the premier to recognise Prince Simakade Zulu as heir to the throne.

Buthelezi also read out two other communiqués, one of which was sent to members of the royal family stating the late king’s wife, Queen MaDlamini, would be the perfect candidate to assume the role of queen regent while the family dealt with its internal politics.

The other letter sent to Misuzulu asks him to “refrain from acting as iSilo [the king] of the Zulu nation”, saying it was fraudulent of him to do so.

“The issue of what is understood by the ‘royal family’ needs to be clarified, as some now claim to be the ‘core’ of the royal family to the exclusion of other senior members of the royal family.

“Moreover, the king was not informed of meetings with the premier held by the queen mother and the queens of the late king. The premier himself brought these meetings to the king’s attention. As the premier is now involved at this level, his majesty believes that this matter requires [an] urgent resolution,” said Buthelezi.

Since the death of the king in March, the royal family has been caught up in numerous battles for the throne, some of which have ended up in court.

Meanwhile, the Office of the Premier said it could not comment on the matter or whether the premier received a letter from Princess Thembi, as it was unaware of the press briefing held on Tuesday.

The premier’s spokesperson, Lenox Mabaso, said Zikalala had been busy dealing with recovery efforts and racial tension in the province and had not had seen the briefing.