Durban — During his entering of the kraal ceremony, King Misuzulu said there was a third hand at play in the royal family divisions.
King Misuzulu raised the issue of a third force which he said might be fuelling tensions within the royal family in the throne dispute.
Perhaps the question became more important after the king raised it during his speech after performing the kraal entering ceremony on Saturday.
Addressing thousands of his subjects including guests from Zambia, Malawi and the Congo, King Misuzulu said those who were constantly challenging his throne, in spite of being officially recognised by the government, were sent to divide the Zulu nation by a third force.
Speaking to royal family sources on Sunday it emerged that those who supported King Misuzulu for the throne had been questioning the financial sources of his rival factions.
One of the senior princes, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the king's suspicion of the third force could be real given the unveiling of his half-brother Prince Buzabazi from KwaDlamahlahla palace on Thursday. He said the prince in terms of African culture stands no chance of ascending to the throne since he was the third son of the late king Zwelithini with his second wife, queen Buhle Mathe.
“We wondered on what grounds Prince Buzabazi could be a new Zulu king because besides coming from the second wife he is the third son in that palace. So King Misuzulu's suspicion of a third force fuelling divisions within the royal family could be real given these circumstances,” said the prince.
The prince, who was close to the late king, added that in terms of African culture, and in particular Zulu history, a second wife does not give birth to an inkosi or king. Instead, if there was no one in the first wife’s house to take over, the position would be passed on to the third wife’s house.
Supporting King Misuzulu's nomination through a letter the prince said a precedent had been set since King Dinuzulu nominated King Solomon ahead of his elder son David. He said soon after the news of King Dinuzulu’s death the royal family court had met and appointed his first son, David, but that was changed after King Dinuzulu’s lawyer, Harriet Colenso, produced the letter in which the king had nominated Solomon to be successor.
Solomon is a great-grandfather to King Misuzulu.
The prince said it was known to the royal family that there were foreign investors pumping money into one faction.
Political analyst professor Bheki Mngomezulu said though it could be difficult to ascertain who the third forces were, that information could be obtained through a lifestyle audit on the applicants – there was a high possibility that there were businesses which were behind the dispute.
Mngomezulu said it was common practice for businesses to align themselves with a person of influence like a king because although the king may not be sitting on tender boards he wields a lot of influence which could benefit the businesses that helped him take power.
He said also strengthening the suspicion of a third force was that within the factions there were people who wanted the distribution of the king’s estate to be fast-tracked to get what’s due to them. He said it raised questions about where they got money to pay for lawyers.
Mngomezulu said filing urgent applications in high court cost applicants a lot of money because the preparation costs bill has to be paid by the applicants before appearance costs.
He said while other lawyers charge per hour a senior counsel charges nothing less than R100 000 a day in court.
Besides more than a R60 million annual budget for the Zulu king, there was vast land under his control through the Ingonyama Trust which businesses want to lay their hands on.
The trust also controls land with mineral resources which was why the Zulu throne was important for businessmen. Besides funding from the government after being recognised, there were rumours that King Misuzulu was in the pocket of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s son, Andile. This was prompted by a video clip that was leaked when the two were discussing the throne before he was officially recognised as king.
Prince Mbonisi Zulu, who has been vehemently opposing King Misuzulu's ascendency, downplayed the king's third force, saying since he did not mention him by name he thought he was generalising.
On who was footing his legal bill, the prince said he also did not think it was anyone’s business.
Speaking on behalf of Prince Simakade’s faction, Prince Mandlakapheli Zulu said they believed it was King Misuzulu's faction that was being used and funded by certain businesses and politicians to destroy the kingship so that they could access the kingdom’s fertile land.
“Instead of pointing fingers at other people, he must explain why he has a relationship with people who have publicly pronounced the Ingonyama Trust must be repealed. The ANC’s Integrity Commission has recommended that the Trust Act must be repealed but King Misuzulu doesn’t see anything wrong with having a relationship with those people,” Zulu said.
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