The High Court in Pretoria has set aside the decision to recognise King Misuzulu kaZwelithini as the Isilo of the Zulu nation.
The court ruled on Monday that King Misuzulu’s recognition was illegal and invalid. The court found that President Cyril Ramaphosa had not lawfully recognised King kaZwelithini because the President had failed to follow the pre-legislative procedure set out in the Leadership Act.
This comes after King kaZwelithini’s half-brother Prince Simakade Zulu filed an application challenging President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to recognise Misuzulu as King.
Amid prolonged battles for the throne inside the Zulu royal kingdom with sections of the royal family refusing to recognise Misuzulu as the right heir to the throne following King Goodwill Zwelithini’s passing in 2021, President Ramaphosa issued a certificate of recognition to Misuzulu in 2022.
However, those contesting Misuzulu’s ascension to the throne, including Prince Simakade who believes he is the rightful heir, would not take this lying down.
Prince Simakade and some members of the royal family challenged this, contending that President Ramaphosa had no right to issue the kingship certificate of the king of the AmaZulu royal family to Misuzulu, asking the court to set aside his issuance of the certificate.
According to court papers, “the judgment is not about who should be king of the AmaZulu. The applicants didn’t ask the court to determine that issue. The applicants brought two review applications and the court was required to determine those.”
The judge notes that the application was limited to looking at the lawfulness of the process that was followed as per Zulu customs and whether President Ramaphosa was correct in issuing the certificate “in terms of the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act 3 of 2019.”
The rightful heir to the throne
The high in Pretoria has, however, not set annulled Misuzulu as the right heir to the throne.
“In respect of the first question, Madondo AJP had already pronounced in related litigation in the KwaZulu-Natal Division, Pietermaritzburg on 2 March 2022 that King Misuzulu is the rightful heir to the throne. Even if that decision is being attacked this court cannot sit as a court of appeal and that decision is regarded as res iudicata (something which has already been decided),” reads the judgment summary in part.
