Prince Simakade, the half-brother of AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini, who challenged his ascension to the throne, has rejected the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruling that confirmed Misuzulu as the legitimate monarch.
Two weeks ago, the SCA overruled the Pretoria High Court’s 2023 judgment that had set aside Misuzulu’s recognition as monarch by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
In a media briefing on Sunday, Prince Simakade’s spokesperson Prince Thokozani Zulu dismissed the SCA ruling as flawed, however, he did not say whether it will be appealed or not, adding that Simakade was still weighing his legal options.
Zulu that Simakade does not understand how the SCA concluded that the 14 May 2021 meeting was properly constituted as it was chaired by the late traditional prime minister, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who they did not recognise as a royal family member.
Zulu also objected to the tradition that the heir to the throne must be determined by whether his mother is a royal and whether her lobola was paid by the nation or not.
“We reject the SCA (ruling) but the decision to appeal or not will be taken at a later stage,” Zulu said.
He also announced that Simakade and his supporters will not attend the reconciliation meeting that Misuzulu has called for later this month, arguing that Simakade has not received a formal invitation. Zulu said historically, this was not the way to call royal family members to a meeting and instead a delegation should have been sent or a personal invitation.
Last week, Misuzulu instructed his spokesperson Prince Thulani Zulu to request all the royals to converge at Mashobeni royal palace in Pongola in the north-east of KwaZulu-Natal with the intention to end hostilities between himself and the ‘rebelling’ houses within the royal family.
The king’s call for unity and peace came after the recent SCA ruling that affirmed him as the legitimate AmaZulu monarch after a protracted legal challenge by his half brother Prince Simakade and his uncle Prince Mbonisi.
