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Tag: Misuzulu kaZwelithini

  • Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini refutes claims of being poisoned

    Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini refutes claims of being poisoned

    Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has refuted rumors of poisoning.

    “I am not poisoned, I am well,” he said on a video released on Monday evening.

    In the video released, the king, looking well, explained that he had travelled to Eswatini for a regular medical health check – something that Chief Buthelezi continues to dispute saying that the king crossed the border to “urgently seek medical attention”.

    “I’m happy, everything is well-functioning, there is no poison whatsoever. So please people, mostly to the Zulu people, the Zulu royal family also to remind everyone to please don’t listen to everything that people say,” the king said.

    Over the weekend, the traditional prime minister of Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini stated that the king had traveled to neighboring Eswatini for medical treatment.

    Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi also mentioned that this decision came in the wake of the sudden passing of one of the king’s senior advisers, who was also suspected to have been a victim of poisoning.

    But in response, the king’s spokesperson, Prince Africa Zulu alleged there was “an orchestrated agenda and a desperate narrative to communicate defamatory and baseless claims of His Majesty’s ill-health”.

  • Health status of Zulu King unconfirmed as contradictory statements emerge

    Health status of Zulu King unconfirmed as contradictory statements emerge

    South Africa’s Zulu King, Misuzulu kaZwelithini, is reportedly undergoing treatment in a hospital for suspected poisoning, according to Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the traditional prime minister.

    Chief Buthelezi stated that the king sought medical attention in Eswatini as he felt uncomfortable receiving treatment in South Africa. The suspicion of poisoning arose following the sudden death of one of the king’s senior advisers.

    In his statement, Chief Buthelezi said King Misuzulu’s senior aide, Douglas Xaba who stayed with him, “passed on quite suddenly and that there are suspicions that he was poisoned”.

    “When His Majesty began to feel unwell, he suspected that he too may have been poisoned.

    “He immediately sought out medical treatment in Eswatini. I am informed that His Majesty felt uncomfortable seeking treatment in South Africa, as his parents had both received treatment in South Africa and subsequently died,” Chief Buthelezi said.

    However, the king’s official spokesman, Prince Africa Zulu, refuted the claims and stated that the king was in “perfect health.”

    Prince Africa Zulu clarified that the king was not currently hospitalized and urged against creating unnecessary panic, indirectly referring to Chief Buthelezi’s statement.

    In his subsequent statement, Prince Africa said there appeared to be an “orchestrated agenda and a desperate narrative to communicate defamatory and baseless claims” about the king’s health.

    “Ultimately, this creates unnecessary panic and perceptions of instability in the Royal Crown,” he added.

    However, Prince Africa confirmed the monarch had undergone a thorough medical examination in Eswatini while visiting his uncle, King Mswati III.

    The checks were carried out because of “our current times of pandemics such as Covid-19 and other dangerous ailments”, and also “to mitigate against any untimely eventuality, given the reports of Mr Xaba’s sudden passing”.

    King Misuzulu was crowned in a grand ceremony in October last year. However, a fierce power struggle has unfolded within the royal family over his ascension, and tensions have also emerged between the monarch and Chief Buthelezi.

  • ‘Our king’: Ramaphosa acknowledges South Africa’s new Zulu ruler

    After a legal battle over succession, South Africa’s president officially recognised King Misuzulu.

    President Cyril Ramaphosa has officially recognised South Africa’s new Zulu king, Misuzulu kaZwelithini, as the head of the country’s most powerful traditional monarchy in the first Zulu coronation since 1971.

    The ceremony recognising the new king, who has promised to unite his country and uphold tradition, brings an end to the legal squabble over his succession to the throne.

    “Our king is indeed officially the king of the Zulu nation and the only king of the Zulu nation,” said Ramaphosa on Saturday.

    The head of South Africa’s largest ethnic group was crowned in August but needed official recognition from Ramaphosa to fully access and use government resources and support.

    In March 2021, former King Zwelithini, Misuzulu’s father, died after reigning since 1971. The coronation was to recognise Misuzulu, 48, as the rightful heir after his late father.

    “This historic moment only comes once in a lifetime, many of us will never see this historic moment again,” said Ramaphosa.

    “You have picked up the mighty spear that has fallen. May your steady hand guide and bring stability to the kingship of AmaZulu,” Ramaphosa said, adding that his government was committed to working with the new king to help transform rural areas into places of prosperity.

    Although the title of king does not bestow executive power, the monarchs wield great moral influence over more than 11 million Zulus, who make up nearly a fifth of South Africa’s population of 60 million.

    King Misuzulu reigns over a divided royal family, with another faction, that includes some of his late father’s wives and some of his siblings from the other palaces, recognising King Zwelithini’s first-born son Prince Simakade as king.

    Misuzulu was chosen as the rightful heir through the will of his mother, the late Queen Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu, who became interim leader after the death of her husband King Zwelithini. The queen passed away almost two months after Zwelithini.

    “I commit to developing the country and the economy and promoting peace and reconciliation first among the Zulus and also among the South Africans and Africans,” King Misuzulu said after taking his oath.

    The king controls vast swaths of land, estimated at about 3 million hectares (7.4 million acres), in KwaZulu-Natal under an entity called the Ingonyama Trust.

    Khaya Ndwandwe, a Zulu historian, said at the stadium that recognition of the new king by the government as “the real king of the Zulu people” means “now the king will be more than protected”.

    “It’s a great day for the Zulu nation. It’s a day of great joy for the Zulu people, for every