Pietermaritzburg - Zulu Princess Ntandoyenkosi and Ntombizosuthu Zulu-Duma, have lost their Pietermaritzburg High Court bid to have the coronation of Misuzulu as the next Zulu King halted indefinitely.
However, the two princesses were able to convince the high court to refer the issue of the validity of the will of their father, the late King Goodwill Zwelithini, for impeachment that would settle a dispute over suspicious signatures carried by it.
The court gave them time frames to follow if they intend to have the matter heard in court and oral evidence, mainly by hand writing excerpts, be heard.
On Wednesday Judge Isaac Madondo, the KwaZulu-Natal deputy judge president, while handing down his judgment on the Zulu royal family court case said Princess Ntandoyenkosi and Ntombizosuthu were able to convince the court to halt the execution of the disputed will, they were not able to show why Misuzulu coronation should not go ahead as they did not specify the harm they would suffer as they are not running for the throne.
Video: Sihle Mavuso/ IOL Politics
In the matter Princess Ntandoyenkosi and Princess Ntombizosuthu Zulu-Duma, wanted the will of the late King to be set aside as they believe that some of the signatures on it were forged and the coronation of King Misuzulu stopped.
Judge Madondo said the issue of the will and the validity of the marriages did not stand in the way of the coronation as the matter of the King is done through the Zulu customary law. He said the name of King Misuzulu didnot feature in the disputed will and the two princesses admitted that. He also said there was no dispute for the premier of KZN or the president to determine.
Moving to the application by Prince Mbonisi Zulu who joined the case later and wanted to interdict the coronation of Misuzulu as the next king of the Zulu nation, Judge Madondo said Prince Mbonisi brought his application regarding the coronation based on “unfounded rumour”.
The Prince’s application was brought on December 2, when it was rumoured that Misuzulu would be officially crowned the following day at KwaKhangelamankengane palace in Nongoma.
Giving background information brought by Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi to dispel notions that King Misuzulu was wrongly nominated, Judge Madondo noted that on 14 last year, Prince Mbonisi and Princess Thembi were invited to a meeting.
Without explanation, they chose not to attend the meeting and no reasons were provided when they skipped the meeting to nominate the next King and Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi nominated Misuzulu as per the law.
King Misuzulu accepted the nomination and there were no objections raised by those who attended the meeting.
However, members of the Zulu royal rebels later held their own meeting and nominated Prince Simakade for the throne and he declined it. Later Princess Thembi Zulu-Ndlovu later wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa, claiming that there was a dispute over the issue, forcing a stalemate.
In the end, Judge Madondo ruled that the application by Prince Mbonisi had been dismissed with costs.
Political Bureau