IN preparation to have King Misuzulu replaced, his opponents in the Zulu Royal family have come up with a royal family tree that would ensure that only the immediate members of the late King Goodwill Zwelithini participate in the new appointment.
This came up in a media briefing in Durban on Friday, where the new family tree, which was recently compiled, was unveiled.
Three senior Zulu Royal family princes, who are opposed to King Misuzulu, said the royal family was in a mess because of people who are not of royal blood meddling in the affairs of King Zwelithini’s family affairs.
Without mentioning names, Prince Vulindlela Zulu, the brother of late King Zwelithini, said people who were not members of the royal family imposed themselves and messed up the family.
“We didn’t know anything about the infighting as we live in the palaces, but this infighting was caused by people from outside the family who, instead of focusing on the affairs of their families, mess up the affairs of our family,” said Vulindlela in a briefing conducted in isiZulu.
He said the differences within the royal family should be solved by its immediate members.
“The royal family is messed up because they don’t see eye-to-eye because of the opportunists (outsiders).
“Some people use social media to say bad things about the royal family, instead of asking us about the royal family because we love each other,” said Vulindlela.
He said such outsiders were hanging the royal family’s dirty linen in public, which was not the culture of the family to do so.
“There is no family that wants to see their internal affairs discussed in the public,” he said.
Vulindlela, Prince Thulani, and Prince Mathubesizwe addressed the briefing at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre.
This was while King Misuzulu was in Nquthu, northern KwaZulu-Natal, launching a project to upgrade the 31km P372 gravel highway.
King Misuzulu's spokesperson, Nkosinathi Zulu, has not yet responded to questions sent to him.
The invitation to the briefing read: “In light of the multifaceted challenges facing the Zulu Royal Family, the time has come for the Zulu Royal Family to take the nation into confidence, setting the record straight and allow the truth to be heard.”
This tree would make it clear who belongs in the family so that those who claim to be princes and princesses, but who are not, would be identified and isolated.
“This tree has been created to make sure that those who speak for the royal family are in that tree.
“If there is anyone who feels that he should have been included in that tree, he or she should come forward,” he said.
In the family tree, which started from King Cetshwayo down to King Zwelithini, listed King Misuzulu as one of the princes, instead of a king.
The princes who called the briefing were brothers of late King Goodwill Zwelithini and uncles of the reigning King Misuzulu.
They made it categorically clear that the briefing was not called to talk about the infighting over the kingship but only to introduce a royal family tree.
“There is no infighting within the royal family, but all we are looking for is unity,” said Prince Mbonisi.
However, when this reporter asked why King Misuzulu was listed as a prince in the family tree, lawyer Barnabus Xulu, who organised the briefing on behalf of the princes, said Misuzulu was not appointed by the royal family but by an outsider.
Xulu said the family was mainly compiled to show the nation who the children and the queens of King Zwelithini were so that only the immediate royal family members would participate in the appointment of the king, which he said was yet to happen.
“The Pretoria High Court has already agreed with us that this one (Misuzulu), who is an illegal king, was not supposed to be recognised by the president (Cyril Ramaphosa).
“We are sitting with a person who is an illegal king,” he said.
Xulu said the Zulu protocol says only close family members of the late king had a right to appoint the successor.
“If there is a person who is interested in becoming a king, he must come out because as the family, we wanted to know all people who are interested in this position.”
Xulu said there were three court cases related to the kingship, two of them being about the will while one was about challenging Misuzulu's anointment.
"The court has confirmed that the Supreme Court of Appeal would be prioritised in the second quarter of the year.
"The roll, with cases that are lined up for the second quarter, would be released next week and we are hoping that we are going to be prioritised," said Zulu.