Durban - Zulu royals – who side with Prince Simakade Zulu in his claim for the throne – say that security has been withdrawn from certain palaces and that this places the queens of late King Goodwill Zwelithini at risk.
Addressing a media briefing at the Pavilion Hotel in Durban yesterday, the group, including princes and princesses from different houses within the royal family, said they were baffled by the withdrawal of security.
Prince Thokozani Zulu told the briefing: “Our concern is that at any moment a lunatic can come to the palaces and do as they please because there is no security to speak of.”
He alleged that the police who had formed part of the security had been moved to different police stations in the Zululand district. He said the move was shocking as they understood royal palaces to be national key points that should be provided with security.
The prince contended that the move had been in the making since the death of the king, adding that the latest development showed how the royal family had been used for point-scoring by political parties. “Our message is that the royal house is above the ANC and the IFP and we will not allow it to be used,” the prince said.
He said they had been equally shocked by the silence from the Traditional Prime Minister, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi regarding the security matter.
“If he cares about the royal family matters and the well-being of the royals, why is he quiet?” said the prince.
Liezel van der Merwe, the spokesperson for Buthelezi, said the matter was beyond the scope of the traditional prime minister. “The Minister of Police would be best placed to comment on the alleged withdrawal of security at royal palaces,” she said.
IFP MPL Blessed Gwala said while the party was unaware of the withdrawal of security, if that was the case, then it was a worrying development that needed to be discussed.
“As the IFP, we were not informed about this and we believe that this needs to be discussed because royalty is an institution that is an asset to KZN and affects all of us in the province,” said Gwala.
He said the party would explore ways in which the matter could be addressed with the urgency that it deserved.
Attempts to get comment from the Office of the Premier, under which matters of the royal household fall, were unsuccessful yesterday.
The police ministry was also approached for comment and had not responded at the time of publication.