AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER
THE South African government and the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government have appealed for unity and stability following the developments of division within the Amazulu royal family in the aftermath of the death of King Goodwill Zwelithini.
Dr Nkosazana Zuma, the Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister and KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala met members of the royal family after one of King Zwelithini’s widows went to court to stop the execution of his will.
The meeting also follows a public spat between Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the traditional prime minister of the royal family and the late King’s siblings. Buthelezi has publicly disclosed that some members of the royal family had held meetings about the succession. He also revealed that doctors had found poison in the liver of Queen Mantfombi Dlamini-Zulu, who died a week ago and will be buried on Thursday.
Buthelezi further described as shameful, the decision by one of the King’s widows, Queen Sibongile Dlamini and her children to challenge the late monarch’s will.
These did not go down well with the late King’s siblings – Princess Thembi Ndlovu and Prince Mbonisi – who expressed disappointment at Buthelezi’s conduct and claimed that they were being blamed for the late Queen’s death. Princess Thembi said Buthelezi time as the traditional prime minister was up.
After a meeting with members of the royal family, Dlamini-Zuma said the royal family was going through a difficult period after losing three senior members of the royal family in a short space of time. She called for stability. “If the royal family is stable, then the people are stable,” she said.
Zikalala said: “Our plea is that the members of the royal house must sit together and discuss the matters internally.”
He appealed to all citizens to pray for the royal family “as it navigates these extraordinary times”.
