DURBAN - ALL eyes will be on the Pietermaritzburg High Court next week when the legal wrangle over who should succeed the Zulu throne will be fully ventilated.
Yesterday, Judge Piet Bezuidenhout presided over another matter involving the royals after an application was filed to interdict the alleged coronation of King Misuzulu. It was alleged that the coronation was set to take place today.
Yesterday’s legal action was brought by the royals that are disputing the authenticity of the will which has King Misuzulu as the heir to the Zulu throne following the death of King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu early this year.
But, after the judge was told by King Misuzulu’s legal representatives that no such coronation was planned, the matter was adjourned to next week, to be heard with the other matters related to the will.
The legal representative of the royals that had brought the case, Peter Zwane, said they were happy that there would not be any coronation as there remained a dispute about the king’s will.
King Misuzulu’s legal representative, Nkanyiso Ncube, said there had not been any plans for a secret coronation, as this would be against normal protocols.
“For a coronation to take place the offices of both the president and the premier should know, and also be represented. There is no way for such a process to take place in private,” said the attorney.
He added that the royals’ urgent case was based on hearsay as opposed to tangible evidence.
It has been previously reported that next week’s hearing is divided into separate parts. In the first matter, first wife of the late king, Queen Sibongile Dlamini-Zulu, approached the court saying she was married to the late king in community of property and, as such, she wants to inherit 50% of the late king’s estate – with five wives sharing the rest.
She is not challenging the validity of the other five wives (including the late queen regent, Mantfombi Dlamini-Zulu, who is not related to her, as she was from the royal family of eSwatini) of the late king.
In another case, Queen Sibongile and her two daughters, Princess Ntandoyenkosi and Princess Ntombizosuthu Zulu-Duma, are challenging the validity of the will of the late king, saying it cannot stand as some of the signatures in it have been flagged as forged.
The battle for succession to the throne has divided the Zulu royal household, prompting government intervention in the form of a task team chaired by former KwaZulu-Natal premier Willies Mchunu.
In a recent interview with The Mercury, Mchunu indicated that the mediation process had ground to a halt as the royals could not agree on a common venue in which they could all meet. He added that this had made the process more difficult as it was crucial for the opposing factions to meet under one roof to resolve the conflict.
In September, the KZN government froze funding for the Zulu royal household’s cultural activities, saying it would only release it once the battle over the throne had been resolved.
Next week’s hearing is set to be presided over by Judge Rishi Seegobin.
THE MERCURY