The eldest son of South Africa’s late Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini and his recently departed regent queen was on Friday named the monarch’s successor amid a turbulent succession battle.
Prince Misuzulu Zulu, 46 — whose name means “strengthening the Zulus” — was named heir in the last will of his deceased mother and queen, Shiyiwe Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu.
The will was read out on television on Friday.
Photo: AFP
The 65-year-old queen and regent died on Friday last week, weeks after she was named interim successor to her husband king Goodwill Zwelithini, the longest-serving leader of South Africa’s largest ethnic group.
Zwelithini passed away on March 12 at 72 after a half-century on the throne following a battle with a diabetes-related illness.
He left behind six wives and 28 children, and a turbulent succession battle followed.
I “hereby nominate and appoint Misuzulu Zulu ... as my successor to the throne,” the late queen’s will read out by advocate Griffiths Madonsela said.
The letter that bequeathed the monarchy to her first son was dated March 23, a day before she was named regent.
Since the death of the late queen, who was Zwelithini’s third wife and the sister of King Mswati III of Eswatini, various factions in the royal family have sought to put forward their candidates to claim the throne.
Some alleged that the regent was poisoned and that her husband’s signature was fraudulently added to his will.
Flanked by singing and dancing Zulu regiments, Prince Zulu on Friday morning made a dramatic entrance at his mother’s official memorial service, demonstrating his willingness to take over as the next monarch of the Zulu nation.
Chaos ensued on Friday after the televised reading of the will when the new successor’s brother, Prince Thokozani, stood up to voice an opinion.
He was quickly shouted down by screeching family members at the royal palace in the coastal KwaZulu Natal province, and the newly named heir was then quickly whisked away by heavily armed security.
Although the title of Zulu king does not bestow executive power, the charismatic Zwelithini had moral influence over more than 11 million Zulus, nearly one-fifth of South Africa’s population.
BEIJING FORUM: ‘So-called freedom of navigation advocated by certain countries outside the region challenges the norms of international relations,’ the minister said Chinese Minister of National Defense Dong Jun (董軍) yesterday denounced “hegemonic logic and acts of bullying” during remarks at a Beijing forum that were full of thinly veiled references to the US. Organizers said that about 1,800 representatives from 100 countries, including political, military and academic leaders, were in Beijing for the Xiangshan Forum. The three-day event comes as China presents itself as a mediator of fraught global issues including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Addressing attendees at the opening ceremony, Dong warned of “new threats and challenges” now facing world peace. “While the themes of the times — peace and development —
Venezuela on Saturday organized a day of military training for civilians in response to the US deployment in the Caribbean, and amid new threats from US President Donald Trump. About a month ago, Washington deployed warships to international waters off Venezuela’s coast, backed by F-35 jets sent to Puerto Rico in what it calls an anti-drug and anti-terrorism operation. Venezuelan Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino Lopez has accused Washington of waging “undeclared war” in the Caribbean, after US strikes killed over a dozen alleged drug traffickers off his country’s coast. Caracas also accused the US of seeking regime change, and
BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS: A prosecutor said they considered the risk of Hak-ja Han tampering with evidence to be very high, which led them to seek the warrant South Korean prosecutors yesterday requested an arrest warrant for the leader of the Unification Church, Hak-ja Han, on allegations of bribery linked to the country’s former first lady and incitement to destroy evidence. The move came a day after the 82-year-old was questioned over her alleged role in bribing former first lady Kim Keon-hee and a lawmaker. Founded in 1954 by her late husband, Sun Myung Moon, the Unification Church has long been the subject of controversy and criticism, with its teachings centered on Moon’s role as the “second coming” and its mass weddings. Followers are derisively referred to as “Moonies.” However, the church’s
‘MURDER’: The US has not provided proof that boats it has struck were trafficking drugs, and a Venezuelan official said it was a crime against humanity that must be investigated Venezuela on Friday accused the US of waging an “undeclared war” in the Caribbean and called for a UN probe of US strikes that have killed more than a dozen alleged drug traffickers on boats over the past few weeks. Washington has deployed warships to international waters off Venezuela’s coast, backed by F-35s sent to Puerto Rico in what it calls an anti-drug operation. “It is an undeclared war, and you can already see how people, whether or not they are drug traffickers, have been executed in the Caribbean Sea. Executed without the right to a defense,” Venezuelan Minister of Defense Vladimir
RSS