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Prince Misuzulu Zulu during the final tribute to his mother, the late Queen Shiyiwe Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu, at the Khangelakamankegane Royal Palace in Nongoma, May 7, 2021. – / AFP
The rite must be held in the utmost secrecy: the new king of the Zulu, the most powerful tribal leader in South Africa, will become heaven on Saturday 20th”.
In this South African country with 11 official languages, sovereigns and traditional chiefs are recognized by the constitution. As non-executive kings, they have deep moral authority and are revered by their people.
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Successor to his father Goodwill Zwelithini, who died in 2021 after a fifty-year reign, Misuzulu Zulu, 47, will, as tradition dictates, enter the ‘cattle pen’ of the Palace of Kwakhethomthandayo in Nongoma, a small town in the province of Kwazulu-Natal ( Southeast) and cradle of the largest ethnic group in South Africa.
Only a few members of the royal family and amabutho (warriors) are allowed to enter this type of temple of the Zulu nation. A handful of people know what’s going to happen there.
About 11 million Zulus
The sovereign, baptized by the ancestors during this first rite of passage, “is then presented to the nation, which pledges to respect and accept him as king,” Gugulethu told Mazibuko, a specialist in African cultures at the University of KwaZulu AFP-Natal. The country’s 11 million Zulus, or nearly one in five South Africans, tend to respond en masse to invitations to celebrate their culture.
The women in traditional dress howl and rhythmically hit the ground. The young girls appear topless and only wear colorful pearl necklaces. Long columns of men clad in animal skins and armed with assegais mimic war, a legacy of the glorious past of warfare against the settlers.
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For the greatness and glory of the Zulu people, which reverberates beyond African borders, rests originally on the exploits of Chaka, a ruthless warrior and army creator who won a bloody battle against the British Empire in the 19th century.
Barefoot warriors, dressed in monkey skin skirts and bracelets, defeat a regular army. The imagination does the rest, historians come up with a nickname: “The Spartans of Africa. “This nation is proud of its identity,” summarizes Mazibuko.
Recently the battle raged in the palace. The son of the late king’s favorite, Misuzulu Zulu, is contested by the first wife and her descendants. King Goodwill Zwelithini had a total of six wives and at least twenty-eight children. Last weekend, the Shard Clan celebrated the coronation of the elder of their line in a desperate bid to seize the throne.
A fortune and a lavish lifestyle
The first queen to bring her wrath to justice claims to be the only legitimate one. And his daughters dispute the authenticity of the will. His execution was stayed, but the queen was dismissed. And in a final twist in the royal saga, the late king’s brothers announced a mysterious third contender to the throne at a news conference on Thursday.
In addition to the crown, the king’s fortune is also at the center of the dispute. The Zulu king is a wealthy owner of land administered by a trust of which he is the sole administrator. It covers almost 30,000 km2, the size of Belgium. And almost 1,500 properties from which he can derive rents.
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Known for his lavish lifestyle, King Zwelithini received around €75,000 annually from the state for his personal use, as well as a €4.2 million budget for the functioning of the kingdom, according to a table published in the Official Gazette.
Support for a sovereign playing the role of guarantor of social peace. “He takes care of the well-being of his subjects, takes care of poverty issues and community development,” pleads for the creation of infrastructure, for example, explains Sihawukele Ngubane from the University of Kwazulu-Natal.
In the coming months, President Cyril Ramaphosa will seal the coronation by formally recognizing the Zulus king in hopes of ending the rivalries that threaten the peace of the kingdom.