The Zulu royal family has called on the ‘rebelling factions’ within the family to ‘return to the kraal’ and participate in the running of the kingdom led by King Misuzulu kaZwelithini, following his confirmation as the legitimate heir to the throne by the Supreme Court of Appeal.
On Monday, the court overruled the Pretoria High Court’s 2023 judgment that had set aside Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini’s recognition as monarch by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa on 16 March 2022 officially recognised Misuzulu’s ascension to the throne which was followed by a certificate handover ceremony at Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban that year. However, Zulu Princes Mbonisi and Simakade challenged Ramaphosa’s recognition of Misuzulu in the Pretoria High Court.
In December 2023 Judge Norman Davis ruled that the recognition was unlawful and ordered that the president should appoint a committee to investigate whether a meeting held on 14 May 2021 by the Zulu royal family, correctly followed the customary law and Zulu customs when declaring Prince Misuzulu as the king in terms of Section 8 of the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act 3 of 2019.
Lawyers for both the King and President Ramaphosa appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court. They argued that all processes were followed and that the royal family had actually identified the King, with the President only later giving official recognition.
In delivering Monday’s judgment, Judge Dumisani Zondi, the Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal said the allegations presented by the applicants ( Princes Mbonisi and Simakade) that the customary law was not followed in the May 2021 meeting were not sufficient for Judge Davis to refer the matter to the investigative committee.
“The question is whether the high court was correct in its conclusion. Put differently, the question is whether the allegations that were raised by King Misuzulu’s detractors that his identification was not in accordance with Zulu customary law and traditions, constituted a sufficient basis for the President to cause those allegations to be investigated by an investigative committee,” Judge Zondi said.
“While I agree that it is the existence of evidence or allegations that will trigger the designation by the President of an investigative committee, and that the threshold for an allegation is something less than evidence.
“I, however, disagree with the high court’s conclusion that the mere assertion that customary law and customs had not been followed in the identification, would be sufficient to justify its referral to an investigative committee.”
Judge Zondi said that he agreed with the counsel for King Misuzulu ‘that an allegation which would trigger the referral must contain the facts necessary to sustain the conclusion that customary law was not followed in the identification’.
“In other words, an allegation must be such that it constitutes a sufficient basis for the conclusion that the identification of a king or queen was not done in terms of the customary law and customs of the traditional community concerned,” read the judgment.
In welcoming the judgment, Misuzulu’s spokesperson Prince Thulani Zulu said the royal family and the king were not surprised as the judgment confirmed their long held view that everything was done according to Zulu tradition and customary law.
He called on both Prince Mbonisi’s and Prince Simakade’s supporters to ‘return to the kraal’ and work with the king in championing the course of the Zulu nation.
“Unity is paramount. We are one family and the king calls for unity…we are appealing to our brothers and sisters who were on the sidelines to come back and unite with the entire family under the leadership of His Majesty, King Misuzulu,” said Prince Zulu.
Prince Thokozani Zulu, a spokesperson for Prince Simakade was not available for comment at the time of publication.
