Durban: The funeral of the son of King Goodwill Zwelithini, Prince Lethukuthula Zulu, who was found dead last week, will be held at the eMahhashini Royal Burial Site in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday.
“The Zulu royal family, the king and the entire Zulu nation are saddened after receiving the terrible news about the passing away of the king’s eldest son, Prince Lethukuthula.
“His body will be brought home from Johannesburg this week,” spokesperson for the Zulu royal family, Prince Thulani Zulu, said.
Prince Lethukuthula Zulu, 50, the eldest son of King Zwelithini and Queen Sibongile MaDlamini’s, was found dead at his Gauteng home in Northwold, Joburg, last Friday.
Prince Lethukuthula was next in line to the Zulu throne.
The police initially said an inquest docket was opened after the prince’s body was discovered by security personnel in the residential complex in which he lived; however, on Monday the Gauteng police said they believed the prince had been murdered.
An undisclosed amount of money and other valuables were also stolen from his home.
“The inquest docket that was opened at Honeydew SAPS on Friday afternoon, November 6, to further investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Prince Lethukuthula Zulu at Graceland Residential Complex in Northwold has now been converted to a murder case based on preliminary evidence emerging from the initial investigation,” said Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters.
Peters said the police were awaiting the post-mortem results and that a case of theft had also been opened.
African News Agency (ANA)