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Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini calls off his wedding, fires another spokesperson

Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini calls off his wedding, fires another spokesperson
Chris Makhaye
By Chris Makhaye
19 Jan 2025
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This is the latest scandal surrounding King Misuzulu, his love life and his handling of the Ingonyama Trust since assuming the kingship of the Zulu people in 2022 after a bruising succession battle that is still raging — in the courts and in public.

The controversies surrounding Zulu monarch King Misuzulu kaZwelithini and his tangled personal life continued at the weekend, taking Zulu Royal family members, government officials, ordinary Zulu people and royal observers by surprise.

Also at the weekend, he fired his spokesperson, Prince Simphiwe Zulu, not long after firing his traditional Prime Minister of the Zulu nation, Thulasizwe Buthelezi, as his official spokesperson. 

This is while his attempts to control the Ingonyama Trust have set off alarm bells in Parliament.

On Sunday morning, 19 January, the Zulu king called off his wedding to his fiancé, Nomzamo Myeni, which was due to take place from Friday, 26 January to Sunday, 28 January. In his statement, he said he had requested the KwaZulu-Natal government to withdraw all security and benefits accorded to her when she became a would-be queen.

It is believed that the king took the decision after learning of Myeni’s previous relationships. Apparently, she has three children from a previous relationship.

In a lengthy letter written on Saturday, 18 January to the director-general of the KZN government, Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize, the Zulu king said “I write to formally instruct the immediate withdrawal of all benefits and security details previously assigned to Ms Nomzamo Myeni. Due to reasons beyond the control of the Royal House, the traditional wedding ceremony involving Ms Myeni has been called off. As a result, it has become necessary to terminate all associated arrangements.”

High court interdict


Even before the weekend’s dramatic events, the wedding was hanging in the balance after an interdict was lodged in the Pietermaritzburg High Court by King Misuzulu’s estranged wife, Queen Ntokozo kaMayisela Zulu, which is expected to be heard this week. She had been seeking a court order to stop the wedding on the grounds that the king would be committing bigamy by marrying a second wife.

In her papers, the queen said that she was in a civil marriage with the king, which prevented him from taking another wife. 

The king and KaMayisela Zulu married in a low-key ceremony in 2021 when he had been nominated, but not yet crowned as king. The couple already had two children together. The king has instituted divorce proceedings against her, which she has indicated she will oppose.

This is the latest scandal involving King Misuzulu, his love life and his handling of the Ingonyama Trust since assuming the kingship of the Zulu people in 2022 after a bruising succession battle, still raging on in the courts and in public.

In the first week of this year, it emerged that the king had instituted divorce proceedings, stating that the “marriage relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant has reached such a state of disintegration that there is no reasonable prospect for the restoration of a normal marriage”.

He offered R20,000 monthly alimony for the queen and the couple’s two children. The queen has filed papers opposing the divorce as well as the proposed settlement.

Before Sunday’s development, legal and cultural experts said there was a strong chance that the court would rule in favour of the queen.

Mpumelelo Zikalala, a leading legal expert and commentator, said that while the case was the first of its kind in the history of the Zulu monarchy, “if an interdict is granted the wedding cannot (legally) proceed. However, if the matter is struck from the roll due to lack of urgency, then the wedding would proceed. It’s better for matters like these concerning a very important person to be resolved outside court, hence an out-of-court settlement would work.” 

‘Self-made troubles’


Professor Musa Xulu, a retired academic and cultural expert, said most of the king’s troubles were “self-made”.

“I think the king lacks sound legal and cultural counsel and this has made him take some of the most awkward decisions, most of which have damaged the image of the Zulu monarch. 

“In this matter of the wedding, the king can still go ahead even if the court rules against him, and risk facing the consequences later. The process of marriage in Zulu culture, but also in other related black cultures in South Africa, is a long-winded and complex process.

“However, if a marriage is not perfected through the part that involves customs and traditions, divorce becomes subject to civil procedures. The king’s marriage to Queen KaMayisela Zulu was not perfected because it did not go through all these processes. So it is difficult to say, culturally, where it stands,” Xulu said.

Attempts for comment from King Misuzulu’s office were unsuccessful as he has fired all his known spokespersons. The king had been in cultural isolation for the past few weeks in preparation for his engagement on Umkhosi WokweShwama (Festival of First Fruits), which takes place annually at the Enyokeni Royal Palace in KwaNongoma, and which will take place this Saturday, 25 January. 

Ingonyama Trust board woes


But it is not only his marital woes that are giving the king sleepless nights. The troubled Ingonyama Trust has been keeping the king in the headlines and is forcing a legal and constitutional showdown between him and the government, particularly involving national Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development Mzwanele Nyhontso.

The Ingonyama Trust is a corporate entity established by the KwaZulu Legislative Assembly in April 1994, days before South Africa’s first democratic elections. The establishment of the trust resulted from a secret deal between the National Party and the Inkatha Freedom Party that convinced the IFP to set aside its planned boycott of elections.

The trust is the repository of about 2.8 million hectares of land in the KwaZulu-Natal, with the Zulu monarch as the sole trustee and the Ingonyama Trust Board running the day-to-day affairs of the land. In 1997, the National Assembly amended the Ingonyama Trust Act to render it consistent with the Constitution, and to make the trust answerable to Parliament and the Minister of Land Affairs and Rural Development.

Last year, King Misuzulu began speaking out against the 10-member Ingonyama Trust Board members, saying he “cannot be forced to account to government” about “his land”.

The king also agitated for the firing of Lisa del Grande, a veteran land rights advocate and the only white member of the board. Late last year, she was hounded out and forced to resign. 

Thereafter, the king launched similar attacks against the deputy chairperson of the board, former anti-apartheid lawyer Linda Zama, as well as the board’s CEO, advocate Vela Mngwengwe. Despite the attacks and vitriol against the pair, they remained in office, much to the dismay of King Misuzulu.

Zama is adamant that the board remains in place and is still performing its duties. “From the side of the Ingonyama Trust Board, it is business as usual. Our first board meeting was scheduled for the 15th of January 2025. It was shifted to 20th January in respect of the (Zulu) King, who is the chairperson of the board, being in isolation (ahead of the Umkhosi Wokweshwama ceremony),” she said, adding that the board was looking forward to fulfilling several outstanding responsibilities and commitments. 

‘Ridiculous demands’


Insiders say the king has been making “ridiculous” demands of the board, wanting to force it to purchase farms and other entities and investments that conflict with the Public Finance Management Act.

They say when the king failed to force his spokesperson and traditional Prime Minister of the Zulu nation, Thulasizwe Buthelezi, to fire the entire board and allow him to be the only and final arbiter of the Ingonyama Trust and its affairs, he fired Buthelezi from his position and followed this by announcing that he had arbitrarily fired the board.

Land Affairs and Rural Development Minister Nyhontso was forced to issue an urgent media statement clarifying that the board was still intact, explaining that the king did not have the power to hire and fire the board, as that responsibility lay with Parliament and his department.

The minister reiterated this last week when addressing the National Assembly portfolio committee on land reform and rural development. A committee statement said it had sought an urgent meeting with the king to iron out differences and prevent the matter from going to court.

Malentsoe Magwagwa, spokesperson for the portfolio committee, told Daily Maverick that the committee had written to the king, seeking an audience later this month when the committee would be on a three-day visit to KwaZulu-Natal to speak to all stakeholders and attempt to calm the situation.

Linda Page, spokesperson for Nyhontso, said the minister had also sought an audience with the Zulu king to explain the legislation and what powers the king had and did not have.

“The minister is hopeful that these outstanding matters can be resolved amicably, through dialogue, without having to go to the courts,” Page said.

However, legal experts doubt that this is possible without litigation and the matter going all the way to the Constitutional Court.

Veteran lawyer and legal expert Ntokozo Radebe said, “It is clear that the king has received erroneous legal advice or counsel which led him to announce the dissolution of the board.

“The only solution to this matter is litigation and this matter can only be resolved by the Constitutional Court, which will define powers between the minister and the Zulu king regarding the Ingonyama Trust.” DM

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