MisuZulu kaZwelithini. Photo: Darren Stewart/Gallo Images
King MisuZulu ka Zwelithini publicly introduced his new traditional prime minister, Thulasizwe Buthelezi, at the opening of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial legislature this week, despite a threat of legal action over the appointment.
The monarch appeared unperturbed by a lawyer’s letter from his uncle Prince Mbonisi Zulu and other royals declaring that the appointment of Buthelezi, the Zululand district mayor, to replace the late Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) founder Mangosuthu Buthelezi is unlawful.
The king introduced Buthelezi and his deputy Phathisizwe Chiliza to the KwaZulu-Natal premier and members of the legislature at the official opening in Pietermaritzburg, asking both to stand and be acknowledged.
He commented that some of those present “do not know him”, an apparent reference to ANC provincial chairperson and leader of government business Siboniso Duma and other party leaders, who were recorded recently saying they were not aware of Buthelezi’s appointment.
The monarch installed Buthelezi and Chiliza last month and later recalled Thanduyise Mzimela, whom he had appointed as chairperson of the Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB), taking on the job himself.
Both appointments sparked a backlash from the faction of the royal family led by Mbonisi, who have approached the high courts in Pretoria and Pietermaritzburg to challenge MisuZulu’s recognition by the president and to stop him from exercising his power over the trust.
In December, the Pretoria high court set aside the king’s recognition by President Cyril Ramaphosa, and declared it unlawful, but the presidency has applied for leave to appeal.
The challenge to the king’s authority over the ITB — and to stop his salary being paid by the government until the appeal is concluded — is due to be heard in Pietermaritzburg on 26 April.
The king’s introduction of Buthelezi came days after he met the agriculture, land reform and rural development minister Thoko Didiza to inform her about his removal of Mzimela and his assumption of the role of chairperson.
Didiza’s spokesperson, Reggie Ngcobo, confirmed in a statement that the minister had met the king in his capacity as chairperson of the ITB last week.
Ngcobo said MisuZulu had requested the meeting so that he could communicate his decision to recall his nominee, Mzimela, and to take on the position of chairperson of the board.
Didiza had “appreciated” the information and also took the opportunity to brief the king about his new role and its statutory obligation, Ngcobo said.
The minister also clarified “the role of the board and its accountability to parliament and communities whose land is under the trust”.
This included briefing the king on parliament’s concerns about governance, accountability and financial management, which “needed to be attended to”.
Didiza’s department funds the ITB, which administers nearly three million hectares of land falling under the Ingonyama Trust, which was set up in 1994 to secure the participation of the late Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini ka BhekuZulu and the IFP in the first democratic elections.
The king is its sole trustee, and can either nominate a chairperson or act in the role himself.
MisuZulu has expressed an intention to change the way the ITB works by increasing the role of amakhosi in its administration and beneficiation, which would require amendments to the legislation.
Ngcobo said Didiza had acknowledged the work that had been done by the new board — which was appointed last year — in addressing parliament’s concerns and in ensuring that the ITB served the people on trust land, as it was meant to.
Didiza would arrange meetings for the king with the board, the premier and the provincial house of traditional leaders, led by Sifiso Shinga.
The monarch did not attend the meeting of the board held in Pietermaritzburg on Monday.
In a letter to MisuZulu’s legal representative, one of the lawyers for Mbonisi and other members of the royal family, Barnabas Xulu, said they had been instructed that the king had made “two major governance decisions”, despite the interdict and the leave to appeal both being pending.
“The appointments of Thulasizwe Buthelezi as the new Zulu nation prime minister, and himself as the chairperson of the Ingonyama Trust Board, have been widely broadcasted in the media and can be regarded as your client’s insistence to undermine the rule of law,” Xulu wrote.
“It is our clients’ contention that his decisions remain unlawful in the face of the pending judicial challenge.”
Xulu said the lawyers had been instructed to attach a copy of this letter in reply to MisuZulu’s answering papers in the ITB interdict, which were due for filing by 8 March.