AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini yesterday called on the people of KZNl to defend the Ingonyama Trust amid calls for its scrapping.

The trust controls the province’s rural land.

Addressing MPLs during the opening of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature in Pietermaritzburg, kaZwelithini described the Ingonyama Trust as an entity which protects the heritage of the people of KZN.

“When it comes to the Ingonyama Trust, I have no doubt that it still has a role to play. So, we all have a responsibility to ensure that the Ingonyama Trusts functions in a way that benefits our people, particularly those living in rural areas.”

In 2019, a panel of experts led by former president Kgalema Motlanthe, recommended that the Ingonyama Trust Act 3 of 1994, which placed KZN’s rural land under the control of the Zulu King, should either be amended or repealed.

The Ingonyama Trust

Established through the Ingonyama Trust Act, the Ingonyama Trust in August suffered another blow when the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) upheld the Pietermaritzburg High Court’s ruling that the entity is not entitled to collect rent from rural dwellers.

“The Ingonyama Trust is one of the things which distinguishes us. It’s about who we are as the people of KZN.
The Zulu king is the sole trustee of the Ingonyama Trust – which controls about 2.8 million hectares of KZN’s land.”

While the king did not specifically make any reference to the SCA ruling, he, however, said he was concerned about some developments within areas which are under the traditional leadership, particularly the killing of traditional leaders.