Durban — The Zulu royal family said the spreading of rumours that the king had been poisoned and was ill was a well-orchestrated plot to dethrone him.
This shocking revelation was made by King Misuzulu’s spokesperson, Prince Africa, in a nearly half-hour interview on Gagasi FM on Tuesday.
Zulu did not mince his words in telling the public that there was a plot to dethrone the king, going as far as naming the two senior princes who had allegedly gone to meet Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Thoko Didiza to badmouth the king.
According to Zulu, the princes met Didiza in Pretoria where they allegedly told her that the king was sick and unfit to rule, and should therefore be medically boarded. Zulu further stated that the two even suggested that an interim committee should be set up to rule until there was a permanent replacement for the king.
Zulu linked the plot to a political party and said the party wanted the king to endorse it so that it would get more votes in the general election next year.
The plot revelation is linked to rumours that the king was poisoned and had been admitted to a hospital in eSwatini at the weekend, which was vehemently denied by Zulu and later by the king himself in a recorded video clip that was widely circulated.
In the clip, the king also denied that the late induna Douglas Xaba had been poisoned, saying that, for now, those were allegations and he did not know the cause of the induna’s death.
“We know there is a campaign by a certain political party to declare the king unfit to rule.
“The rumours of him being poisoned were linked to this plot. There are people who want to capture the king for political reasons. We are also aware that there is a plan to install an interim committee that will run the affairs of the kingdom until elections next year to benefit this political party,” said Zulu.
He reiterated that the king had not been poisoned and was not admitted to hospital as had been claimed, adding that the king was currently in his hotel in eSwatini as the guest of King Mswati III, whom he was visiting. Zulu said the king did go to hospital but had a routine check-up.
At the centre of this, Zulu said, was the king’s refusal to backtrack in appointing Inkosi Thanduyise Mzimela as the new chairperson of the Ingonyama Trust board. He said there were people who were demanding that the king appoint someone with legal expertise, but the king insisted on Mzimela.
This is the third faction challenging the king’s crown, and according to Prince Africa these princes supported the king’s ascendancy. He said it was clear that their support was conditional, and now that he had shown that he would not be their puppet they withdraw their support and wanted him dethroned.
In his recorded video, the king hinted at the plot to dethrone him, and said he wondered how that would happen since it had never happened in the history of the Zulu nation.
Besides this new faction, the king is still embroiled in a bitter court battle with a royal faction led by his half-brother, Prince Simakade Zulu, and one led by his patriarchal uncle, Prince Mbonisi Zulu. Both matters are due in the High Court, Pretoria, in October.
Minister Didiza’s spokesperson, Reggie Ngcobo, confirmed that a group of 14 people that included some princes had met the minister, but said they came to understand how the Ingonyama Trust Board was appointed. Ngcobo said the group introduced itself as Abavikeli Besihlalo (Crown Protectors).
“After the minister had explained to them the process, the group left and that was the end,” said Ngcobo.
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