Durban - With the tensions in the Zulu royal house escalating, the so-called “royal rebels” have written to President Cyril Ramaphosa, claiming that the mediation team led by former KwaZulu-Natal Premier Willies Mchunu failed to bring a solution.
The letter was written on February 21 and was signed by Prince Mbonisi Zulu and Prince Vulindlela Zulu.
Notably, the royal rebels have been weakened after Princess Thembi Zulu-Ndlovu and Prince Thokozani Zulu pulled out when Prince Simakade was dumped in the contest for the throne against Misuzulu kaZwelithini, the prince who is sitting on the throne on a de facto basis.
They opened the letter to Ramaphosa by thanking him for granting the late King Goodwill Zwelithini a state funeral. They said they appreciated the intervention by Ramaphosa and his minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.
However, they said the intervention did not fulfil its intended purpose because of high tension over the issue of succession and political interference.
READ THE LETTER
“The Zulu Royal Family, represented by the Zulu Royal Council, appreciates the intervention of the Presidency and Cogta by sending a mediation team to intervene on the matter regarding the successor of the Zulu King. The mediation team was intended to assist the family with regards to the tension that arose over the appointment of the successor to be King after the passing of His Majesty.
“The family feels that the intervention did not fulfil its intended purpose, which was to encourage co-operation and a peaceful sitting of the core Zulu Royal Family members and for the Zulu Royal Council to be able to fulfil its mandate with minimal disarrangement from external parties, political interference and individuals imposing themselves as Zulu Royal Family members.
“The Zulu Royal Family feels the intervention was unsuccessful not because of the incompetency of the mediation panel team but because of the high tension and sensitivity of the matter regarding the appointment of the new King,” reads part of the letter.
One member of the royal rebels told Independent Media the Mchunu committee even listened to input from people "who are not core members of the royal family“.
“Issues of succession are discussed by core members of the royal family, not every imposter claiming to be from the royal court. In this case, Mchunu was listening to people who are not supposed to have a say on the matter,” said the royal family member who leaked the letter to Independent Media.
Mchunu said although he was not aware that such a letter had been sent by some members of the royal family to the president, he denied the allegations that they had failed in their mandate.
He said they were generous enough to listen to input which was outside their scope just to ensure that all parties feel heard and content that their input was taken into consideration.
“We deny that… we listened to all sides, including Prince Mbonisi and his side. Their input was included in our final report. We even listened to some input which was not part of our terms of reference,” Mchunu said in response to the accusations.
Mchunu said it was worrying to see issues of the royal family being aired on media platforms, adding that it compromises the sacred institution.
The letter to Ramaphosa comes as Prince Thokozani on Tuesday claimed that the decision by the KwaZulu-Natal legislature to invite King Misuzulu to its opening was concerning as the Zulu nation “does not have a king yet”.
It was not yet clear whether King Misuzulu would honour the invitation or not. His spokesperson, Prince Africa Zulu, said the final decision lies with the king himself.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Tyrone Seale, did not respond when asked whether the Presidency had received the letter or not.
The letter concludes by telling Ramaphosa that the “correct name” for the next king would be submitted to him after all the necessary cleansing rituals that would start on March 12, 2022, have been concluded.
sihle.mavuso
Political Bureau