Nongoma - KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala has confirmed that his office has been served with court papers by lawyers representing King Goodwill Zwelithini’s first wife, Queen Sibongile Dlamini and her two daughters, Princess Ntandoyenkosi Zulu and Princess Ntombizosuthu Zulu-Duma.
The court action, along with infighting linked with the succession battle in the Zulu Royal Family, has left the monarch divided.
Queen Sibongile and her two daughters, want to interdict the execution of the king’s will. They argue that his will was forged.
Separately, the queen who married the king in 1969 through a civil union, contests that she is the senior wife, and as such, she wants 50% of the king’s estate and the other half to be shared by the other five wives and their 26 surviving children.
The office of the KZN Premier is cited in the court papers since it has a constitutional role to oversee Zulu royal affairs like yearly budgets and royal assets record keeping.
Speaking to reporters outside Khangela palace in Nongoma in northern KZN, where he had led a provincial cabinet to mourn the passing of Queen Regent, Mantfombi Dlamini-Zulu, Zikalala said his office’s legal team was working on the matter.
“We received papers and those are court papers that we have referred to our internal legal unit, and we will see how we take forward that matter. We don’t want to enter into details in these issues,” he said.
For now, there is no date when the Pietermaritzburg high court would hear the urgent matter. However, insiders within the Princess Thembi and Prince Mbonisi-led “royal clique” said it was likely to be heard as early as next week, as they don’t want to leave anything to chance.
“It pains us to see issues of the royal family being discussed in the manner in which it is happening, where there will be an exchange of words, publicly, among people who have a responsibility to sit together and discuss (them).
"Our plea is to respect Her Majesty, the Queen (Dlamini-Zulu), but also His Majesty (King Goodwill Zwelithini),” Zikalala said, adding that the royal family could call upon them “for support.”
Dlamini-Zulu, a sister to King Mswati III of eSwatini, is expected to be buried in private at dawn on Thursday.
A memorial service, which will be attended by a delegation from the Swati monarch, will take place on Friday at Khangela palace where she is expected to be buried.
Political Bureau