Nongoma - Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the Zulu monarch's traditional prime minister, has dismissed a government memorandum saying the annual reed dance has been moved to KwaKhangalemankengane palace.
He says the cultural ceremony will go ahead at eNyokeni palace as planned.
The confusion over the venue was sparked by a memo from the KwaZulu-Natal government, which announced that the cultural ceremony has been moved to the other palace.
No reason was cited except to say arrangements have to be made to ensure that everyone moves to the new venue.
“Kindly be informed that the venue for the Umkhosi Womhlanga (reed dance) has been moved to KwaKhangelamankengane royal palace.
“Kindly make appropriate arrangements to accommodate this development,” read the government memo, which was addressed to all heads of departments, the provincial commissioner of the SAPS and municipal managers.
Another memo communicating a similar message was sent out to members of the provincial legislature announcing the change.
However, Buthelezi issued his own statement saying the memo should be ignored as the event is going ahead as planned.
“On behalf of his majesty King Misuzulu kaZwelithini, I wish to confirm that the annual reed dance ceremony will take place as scheduled tomorrow, 17 September 2022, at Enyokeni Royal Palace.
“Any statements or rumours to the contrary are not accurate and should be ignored.
“His majesty looks forward to welcoming members of the Zulu nation at Enyokeni royal palace tomorrow morning,” Buthelezi said.
The debate over the hosting of the ceremony there started when royal family members that have installed Prince Simakade as their “king” warned of “bloodshed” if the event is held there.
According to them, eNyokeni is the seat of power for Prince Simakade and out of bounds to King Misuzulu who they don’t recognise as their king.
IOL understands that the government memo announcing the change was not communicated to the royal family and when it was circulated, it left most of them baffled, feeling that the provincial government was succumbing to “empty threats of bloodshed” by those in support of Prince Simakade.
Amid the confusion caused by the government memo, Zulu maidens were arriving in their numbers on Friday at the palace to prepare for the main dance on Saturday.
By 6pm on Friday, about 1000 of them had already arrived and camped in big white marquees pitched on the arena of the dance.
All this happened under the watchful eyes of armed SAPS officers who were scattered all over the palace. Some were stationed near the entrance to the main palace while others were seen patrolling in their vehicles.
Among the prominent members of King Misuzulu’s inner circle spotted around the palace was praise singer Buzetsheni Mdletshe and his spokesperson, Prince Thulani Zulu.
The king and his entourage were not around. Usually, when the king has to host a ceremony, he is spotted in the vicinity of the hosting palace.
At the gates of the palace, Prince Mandlakapheli Zulu, the spokesperson of Prince Simakade, was seen addressing some media personnel.