Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has threatened legal action against all those who drag his name through the mud.
He was referring to those who are opposed to his ascendancy to the throne, including some of his family members, according to a royal household member who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
The source said one of the issues was the manner in which the king was treating inhabitants of the KwaKhangela Palace, and the matter will be brought to the elders at the right time.
“We have been talking about it and [working] to reach an agreement on the appropriate steps to take.
We can’t say much about this in public but it is true that Isilo is not treating some of us fairly. We don’t know what our future holds under his rule
He alleged that the king wanted to evict the inhabitants of the palace including his siblings. The palace was occupied by the late king Goodwill Zwelithini and his late wife Mantfombi.
The situation is reported to have reached a boiling point as the reigning king is said to have also taken a car which was used by residents of KwaKhangela palace.
The royal household spokesperson Prince Africa Zulu of the Onkweni Palace said the king is “sick and tired” of the antics of some of the family members.
This is character assassination at its worst. They are determined to drag His Majesty’s name through the mud.
“They are trying hard to create divisions and chaos under his rule and that is not going to happen. He is considering legal action against all those who are making false accusations against him. This is defamation of character,” said Zulu.
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On the car, Zulu said the vehicle was hired by the Ingonyama Trust for the palace and used to attend events.
“They have been misusing the car. They would go to hotels in Durban on occasions that had nothing to do with the royal household work. They raked a bill of over R500 000 and Ingonyama Trust questioned this as the bill was over the value of the vehicle.
There is no such thing that the king wants to take the car. The problem is that these people want to rule with the king, and that has never happened in the history of KwaZulu, and it’s not going to happen during the reign of His Majesty,” said Zulu.
He said the king had never talked about evicting anyone from the KwaKhangela Palace but was opposed to the manner in which the occupants ran the property.
“They treat the palace like a rented flat, in an undignified fashion. Matters of the KwaKhangela are to be decided by the reigning king and they don’t seem to understand that. They are treating the palace like a common house or rented flat,” he said.
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Dr Gugu Mazibuko, cluster leader of African languages and linguistics at UKZN and an expert on Zulu culture, said the king has a responsibility to look after all the Zulu palaces. He has his own but the one in question stays with his siblings.
“Traditionally and culturally Isilo (king) is above everyone. He is the overseer of the Zulu kingdom. I won’t touch on the allegations but the fact is, even though His Majesty has his own palace, he still has a responsibility to oversee all the other existing palaces,” said Mazibuko.
Princess Phumzile Buthelezi, daughter of the late Zulu Prime Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi is reported to have confirmed knowledge of the allegations against the king.
She reportedly said the KwaKhangela issue had been brought to her attention, and that the king was abusing his siblings.
Buthelezi did not respond by the time of publication when contacted for further details on the matter.