King Misuzulu Biography
Misuzulu Sinqobile kaZwelithini is the current King of the Zulu nation. He was born on September 23, 1974. Misuzulu is the first son of Queen Mantfombi Dlamini, who was the Great Wife of King Goodwill Zwelithini. He is the first son of Queen Mantfombi Dlamini, even though he is the third oldest son of King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu who is still alive. Misuzulu was named the heir apparent to the Zulu throne after his father died on March 12, 2021. Even though he was officially named king of the Zulu nation, his traditional coronation didn't happen until August 20, 2022, after a ceremony called ukungena esibayeni, in which he entered the cattle kraal. On October 29, 2022, the King was officially crowned, and the government acknowledged his role.
Accession to the Throne
Even though King Misuzulu was King Goodwill Zwelithini's third oldest son who had lived to adulthood, he did not take the throne right away. His claim to the throne would have been automatic in the past; however, the Zulu Kingdom now considers itself to be a constitutional monarchy, in which the leader of the nation must be appointed. During the interregnum, King Goodwill Zwelithini's Great Wife, Queen Mantfombi Dlamini, was named regent. On March 24, 2021, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi released a statement on behalf of the Zulu Royal Family saying that the new king would not be named until after a three-month period of mourning for the late King Goodwill Zwelithini. Queen Mantfombi Dla In King Goodwill Zwelithini's will, Queen Mantfombi was given the job of picking the next king or queen.
As soon as King Misuzulu's father died, historians and cultural experts said that King Misuzulu would be put on the throne. They thought that King Misuzulu would be put on the throne because he was the son of the late King and the late King's Great Wife. This gave him more status than the late King's other 28 children. The Great Wife of the King was King Misuzulu's mother. During that time, there were senior members of the royal family who said it was “too soon” to talk about who would take over. At the funeral for King Goodwill Zwelithini, the late king's sister, Princess Thembi Ndlovu, said that the Royal Family did not yet know who the next king would be and that the person would be “chosen by God.” She also said that the Royal Family still didn't know who would be the next queen.
On April 29, 2021, Queen Regent Mantfombi Dlamini died of an illness that was not known. This was about seven weeks after King Goodwill Zwelithini had died. Before she died, the Queen Regent had not named in public who would take over as Zulu monarch after her.
On May 7, 2021, the public reading of the Queen's will showed that she had chosen King Misuzulu to be the next king of the Zulu nation. During the reading of the will, this information came to light. King Misuzulu was there when the will was read, and he was taken to safety by the South African Police Service and a security detail from eSwatini after some members of the royal family protested the news.
The royal hunt started when Misuzulu went into the royal kraal on the evening of August 19, 2022. It went on until early in the morning of August 20, 2022.
On October 29, 2022, the king was crowned. Many politicians, actors, actresses, journalists, members of the royal family, musicians, and crowds of people were there to see it. Cyril Ramaphosa, Jacob Zuma, David Mabuza, Mswati III, Patrice Motsepe, Thabo Mbeki, and a lot of other important people were there. The ceremony to crown the new king or queen took place at the Moses Mabhida Stadium. Even city streets were shut down by the government.
Legal dispute
On May 2, 2021, news emerged that legal papers had been sent to the Pietermaritzburg High Court to challenge the legality of the will that King Goodwill Zwelithini had written before he died. The court case was filed by the late King's first wife, Sibongile Winifred Dlamini, and his two daughters, Princess Ntandoyenkosi and Princess Ntombizosuthu. The first wife of the dead King brought the suit to the court. They said that the King's signature was fake, so they tried to get the will thrown out and declared invalid because of this. They also asked the court to stop the appointment of a new king or regent until the court decided if the late king's will was legal.
It is important not to get the King's Great Wife and the King's First Wife confused. The King's Great Wife was his third wife, but because she was a member of the Swazi Royal Family, she was more important than all of his other wives. The King's First Wife was the first woman the King ever married.
The late king married his first wife according to South African civil marriage laws. But he only married his other wives in ways that were allowed by Zulu law. This is because South African law recognizes polygamous marriages in Zulu culture but not in civil marriages. At the center of the court case were claims that the signature on the late king's will was forged, as well as questions about the legality of customary marriages that happened after the first civil marriage. The court was supposed to hear the case on May 7, 2021, which was also the day that King Misuzulu was officially named king. The hearing was supposed to happen on May 7, 2021, but it was moved to a later date. Later, the princesses who were fighting said that they didn't know Misuzulu would be named king later that same day.
On May 21, 2021, Princess Ntandoyenkosi and Princess Ntombizosuthu went back to court to try to stop Misuzulu from becoming king. In particular, the legal papers asked for an order to be made that would stop the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal from doing anything that would officially recognize Misuzulu as king of the Zulu nation, or that would stop President Cyril Ramaphosa from giving Misuzulu the certificate of recognition. Both of these requests were made to the court in order to get an interdict. South Africa's Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act says that in order to officially recognize a king or queen, the president must first issue a certificate of recognition, and then the recognition must be printed in the Government Gazette. Section 9(2)(b) of the Act says that this must be done. The High Court in Pietermaritzburg has decided to put off the case so that the princesses can combine it with an earlier case that challenged the legality of King Goodwill Zwelithini's will. This choice was made after the princesses asked for the event to be put off. According to the order from the High Court, the parties in both cases had to turn in more court documents by June 18, 2021. At that time, it wasn't clear if the Zulu Royal Family would go ahead with the coronation even though the courts were looking into the matter.
The High Court turned down the challenge to Misuzulu's right to be king on March 2, 2022. This made it possible for the coronation to go ahead as planned. Isaac Madondo, who was the judge in charge, said, “There was no room for debate… No complaints have been made, and no one else has made a claim to the throne.” The court case about the alleged forgery of the late King Goodwill Zwelithini's signature on his will was set to go on, but the judge said that the Zulu Royal Family should use Zulu customary laws and traditions to choose the new Zulu leaders. Even though the case about the alleged forgery of the will's signature was going to go on, this was said. He said that, according to these laws, the king's heir is the great wife, who is also royalty, and that her will is not being questioned at this time. He said this in response to a question about whether or not the will of the great wife is legal. On March 16, President Cyril Ramaphosa gave King Misuzulu a certificate recognizing him as the King of AmaZulu.
On July 7, 2022, it was reported that the Hawks, which is the South African Police Service's Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, had found that the late King Goodwill Zwelithini's signature on his will had been faked.
On August 4, 2022, the news came out that the King's coronation would take place on August 20 of the same year. Even though members of the Zulu Royal Family had gone to the Supreme Court of Appeal to try to stop Misuzulu from becoming king.
Personal life and education
King Misuzulu went to elementary and middle school in eSwatini, the country where his mother was born. He then went to St. Charles College in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, to finish his high school education. King Misuzulu married his longtime partner, Ntokozo Mayisela, on May 6, 2021, one day before his mother's funeral. On May 6, the event took place. The wedding of King Misuzulu's sister, Princess Bukhosibemvelo, and former Transnet executive Sipho Nyawo, which took place in August 2009 at the Durban Botanic Gardens, brought the couple together. On May 13, 2021, King Misuzulu sent a group to Mayisela's home to negotiate and pay lobola, which is a traditional way for Zulus to get married. It was said that the lobola was made up of eight cows and 50,000 Rand, which is the currency of South Africa. eSwatini gave the king a second queen. Her name is Queen Nozizwe Mulela, and she is from that country. Even though the Lobola and other cultural ceremonies have been done, the wedding has not yet happened. It doesn't look like the king and his second wife have any children.
Some people in Jacksonville, Florida, say he has a degree in international studies, while others say he is still working on getting the degree. He has two children with his wife, Ntokozo Mayisela, and one with Princess Wezizwe Sigcau, who is part of the royal family of the amaMpondo.
