Durban — King Misuzulu has expressed concerns at the delay by his traditional prime minister, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, to file answering affidavits to his court case against his half brother Prince Smakade Zulu.
In a letter that he penned to Prince Buthelezi which the Daily News has seen, the king said he had tried to reach out to Prince Buthelezi telephonically but was informed that he was unavailable, adding that he eventually managed to communicate with him through his son Prince Zuzifa Buthelezi.
The king said the primary purpose of his call to Prince Buthelezi was to avail himself (the king) to discuss the reasons for the purported delay in signing the answering affidavit by Prince Buthelezi which the king said was supposed to have been filed in February.
“...To the contrary, your reluctance to sign the answering affidavit appears to be emanating from unrelated issues, which fall outside the ambit of the subject application and our answering affidavit.”
The answering affidavit in question is related to the king's court battle with a faction within the royal family that challenges his ascendency to the throne which is due to be ventilated in Pretoria High Court from 31 May to 2 June. The King has since applied for postponement.
Furthermore, the king said among issues raised in his communication with Buthelezi's son were the following:
“The demand that the newly appointed Inkosi Mzimela tender his resignation as the chairperson of the Ingonyama Trust Board; (and) My preliminary intention to recommend the appointment of two additional members to the board with legal expertise.”
The king continued: "However, I was informed by your son that, for reasons unknown to me, you persist in your view that: The chairperson of the Ingonyama Trust Board should be someone with legal expertise; and Inkosi Mzimela should resign with immediate effect. I was further informed that the signing of the answering affidavit on behalf (of) yourself and I is conditional on the aforesaid demands. As a result of this rather unfortunate impasse, I regret to inform you of my decision to terminate the mandate of Strauss Daly Inc, acting on our behalf and to appoint new attorneys to act on my behalf."
NB: The article has been edited to correct some inaccuracies in the previous version.
APOLOGY: Some aspects of His Majesty the King’s private letter to his traditional Prime Minister were inaccurately conveyed or misrepresented, for which the Daily News apologises.
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