Durban — King Misuzulu’s legal team has poured water on the Pretoria High Court judgement which set aside his recognition by the South African government.
On Monday Judge Norman Davis delivered his much-anticipated order setting aside the king’s appointment by President Cyril Ramaphosa in March last year.
The application was brought by Prince Mbonisi Zulu and the king’s half-brother Prince Simakade Zulu who both asked the court to declare the then prince Misuzulu’s recognition as the king invalid and unlawful.
Delivering his judgment, Judge Davis ordered that the president appoint an investigating team to look at whether King Misuzulu was appointed in terms of the customary law or not. The judge also blamed the president for ignoring the recommendations of the mediation team that was led by the former KwaZulu-Natal premier Willies Mchunu which recommended that the president appoint a team to investigate whether all due customary law processes were followed when the royal family met and appointed the then prince Misuzulu to be a king.
Reacting to the judgment, the king’s instructing attorney Ross Richards told the Daily News on Monday that the judge did not set aside the May 14, 2021 royal family meeting which means that in terms of the customary law, the king was properly identified as the king of Zulu nation.
“The most fundamental finding of this judgment is part 36 of the judgment which reads as follows:
“I therefore find that the plea of res judicata raised on behalf of the respondents is good and it is not open for this court to overturn the judgement of Madondo AJP which is what would happen if the principal relief, namely the review and setting aside of the identification decision of 14 May 2021, were to be ordered.”
“This means that in terms of the customary law the King was properly identified as the King of the Zulu nation. The only reservation by this court was the procedure adopted by the President to recognize the identification,” said Richards.
Last year, Judge Mjabuliseni Madondo ruled that the May 14, 2021 meeting was properly constituted and dismissed prince Mbonisi’s application to interdict King Misuzulu’s coronation where he was handed the kingship certificate by Ramaphosa at Moses Mabhida stadium in October last year.
King Misuzulu’s faction is yet to react on the judgment while Simakade’s side will hold a media briefing on Tuesday afternoon.
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Daily News