In his first interview since the royal shake-up, Prince Mcwayizeni Zulu talks to Ann Eveleth
THERE was an emotive ritual outside King Goodwill Zwelithini’s palace gates last Tuesday to mark his rapprochement with Senior Prince Mcwayizeni Zulu.
“In accordance with tradition, we each stood outside the palace gates and a man poured fire ash into the king’s hands, which he poured into my hands. We rubbed our hands with the ash and then I poured it back into the king’s hands,” Mcwayizeni said this week.
After this “cleansing” ceremony, the two exchanged the most prominent of Zulu gifts: “I took a beast to the king, and the king gave me a beast from the royal kraal. We slaughtered them and then there was a feast.”
The ceremony was conducted in the presence of the families of both men, as well as the families of the late Kings Solomon and Cyprian, in accordance with tradition.
“Everybody was excited — even the family of the king, because they said they have been without a father for so long.” Mcwayizeni explained that as the senior prince he is the “father of the Zulu nation”.
And in his first interview since the royal shake-up, Mcwayizeni said that Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi was acting against the Zulu king and the royal family.
“After what we saw the other day at the palace, we are convinced that this is a man who could try to have the king killed … Buthelezi is now against the king, against the royal family. In fact, the Zulu royal family is now against him.”
The gaunt, affable ANC MP returned to the royal hierarchy last week after an absence of nearly a decade, to take his place as the “most powerful member of the royal family after the king” and he has the power to speak on the monarch’s behalf.
Mcwayizeni explained that he is the most senior prince because he is the first son of the late King Solomon’s favoured wife. After Zwelithini’s father, the late King Cyprian, was born to the first of King Solomon’s 40-odd wives, a fallout between the couple saw Mcwayizeni’s mother elevated to the most prominent position among the wives.
Mcwayizeni said Buthelezi — the son of King Solomon’s sister, Princess Magogo — “was never the king’s traditional prime minister”, as Buthelezi has always claimed. “This is a post to which the king must freely appoint one of his trusted indunas. Buthelezi was just appointing himself.”
Asked what would happen to Buthelezi now, Mcwayizeni chuckled: “In our dreams he is going to disappear.”
On a more serious note, Mcwayizeni said Buthelezi’s decision to push ahead with Saturday’s Shaka Day celebration was aimed at stirring up violence and confusing the Zulu people. He stressed that Buthelezi was doing so in defiance of the king.
“The Zulu royal house has already made a decision. It is final and no member of the royal family will attend the celebration. According to our custom, no Zulu is above the king and his decision is irrevocable.”
He added that Buthelezi is not a member of the Zulu royal family, though the IFP leader claims to be a prince. “He has nothing to do with matters of the royal family. He is not a Zulu; he is a Buthelezi,” Mcwayizeni said, in reference to Buthelezi’s surname rather than his national origins.
Though it has been speculated that Mcwayizeni will step down as an ANC MP, he signalled that he would not be doing so: “I am a politician. But when it comes to matters concerning the royal house, I leave my politics at the door.”
Sources said the fact that Mcwayizeni holds a senior political post rules him out as a candidate to head the Royal Council that Zwelithini intends to form to advise him on issues concerning the Zulu nation. Prince Clement Zulu, a powerful figure at the time of Zwelithini’s coronation in 1971, is expected to head the council.