Durban – The speaker of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, Nontombeko Boyce, has kicked off the opening of the body by dispelling the notion that they wanted to can the opening by King Misuzulu kaZwelithini.
UPDATE: King Misuzulu is now delivering his speech, he says he has started restricting his office to face modern realities. Furthermore, he said he believes that the Ingonyama Trust is still needed and working together, the trust could be used to protect the land of Zulus. @IOL
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) February 23, 2023
Boyce said they never accepted that proposal even though there were some people who once proposed that the two-day opening of the body should be scrapped and done in one day.
She said there was an agreement that the king should only open the body after he had been crowned.
PHOTOS: King Misuzulu KaZwelithini has finally arrived to open the KwaZulu-Natal legislature to start its 2023 business. @IOL pic.twitter.com/kIrYjHPqrO
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) February 23, 2023
"We never did that, it was some people who got it wrong and spread it, our position has always been the same even when others wanted (it) to be made a one-day event.
Former President Jacob Zuma arriving for the opening of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature by King Misuzulu KaZwelithini on Thursday in Pietermaritzburg. Zuma got a rousing welcome when people ululated and shouted "Zuma! Zuma! Zuma!" when he made his grand entrance. @IOL pic.twitter.com/qlR0qFbqaF
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) February 23, 2023
“We said no, this is about logistics, not rules,” Boyce said.
She was speaking to IOL on the sidelines of the opening of KwaZulu-Natal legislature by King Misuzulu KaZwelithini on Thursday.
The king’s official opening paves way for Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube to deliver the State of the Province Address at the same venue on Friday.
Other than the fashion choices of guests and members of the provincial legislature (MPLs), the arrival of Jacob Zuma was the main attraction.
Some guests started ululating and chanting “Zuma! Zuma! Zuma!” and the former president smiled and waved back as he made his way to his reserved seat behind MPLs.
Also present at the event was Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi who came to fulfil his role as the traditional prime minister of the Zulu nation and introduce the king before the opening.
The king’s wife, Queen Ntokozo Mayisela, and Prince Mthokozisi Mahlobo, the man who is tipped to be the next traditional prime minister of the Zulu nation, were also there.
Mahlobo dismissed rumours that he has been expelled from the royal court, saying “no one can be expelled from his own home”.
King Misuzulu arrived at around 11am.
In his first speech since taking the throne, he paid homage to his late father, King Goodwill Zwelithini, and his late mother, Queen Mantfombi Dlamini-Zulu, for their visionary leadership. They died in 2021.
“His (the late king’s) long service underlined how tradition serves as a source of unity in society and as a proof of tangible values, which binds communities together in evolving times,” he said.
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