History repeated in succession dispute

Court action filed to decide king’s successor

THE recent passing of Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini has exposed a lacuna in the commoner’s understanding of what was previously perceived to be a simple matter of royal succession.

The subsequent demise of Queen Shiyiwe Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu, who was swiftly appointed as regent, has also not helped shed much light as court action soon followed among those in the royal family left to decide the identity of the king’s rightful successor.

In his role as the mouthpiece of the royal household, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi was soon overwhelmed by questions for clarity.

A statement from the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) issued this week put paid to any further quest for clarity: “(We) would like to point out that Prince Buthelezi MP issued an extensive statement yesterday morning to clarify a whole host of issues currently in the public domain.”

The statement pleaded: “Prince Buthelezi’s only focus now is to give Her Majesty the Queen, the Regent of the Zulu Nation, a dignified send-off.”

“We hope that our request for time and space for these processes to unfold will be respected.”

The queen was laid to rest on Friday. The question of who would eventually ascend the throne would have largely remained conjecture for the layman, without the help of experts on royal matters.

“Naturally, in the isiZulu culture, when a king passes on, it is expected that his eldest surviving son from one of his senior wives should be the next king and in the case, King Misuzulu kaZwelithini should be the successor unless he abdicates.

“Because King Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu was a modern isiZulu king, he would have had the succession proceedings written down instead of being uttered. It is a pity that his will is currently being disputed because that is where he would have stated his wishes should he have diverted from the norm.

“On the other hand, it is also possible that Queen Mantfombi Dlamini may have known the king’s wishes regarding the succession as she was appointed by him as regent. It would have been the queen’s role to appoint the next king and oversee the coronation.

“We can only hope that Queen Mantfombi indicated in her will, if she had one, the name of His Majesty’s successor,” says Themba Madingiza, a lecturer in the Department of African Languages at the University of Johannesburg (UJ).“

Responding to the same question, Emeritus Professor of Private Law at the University of Cape Town (UCT), Thandabantu Nhlapo puts a different spin on it.

“Sometimes seniority is a matter of the chronological order in which the wives were married: the first-married being the senior-most. In other groups, seniority is not chronological, it is about the royal parentage of the wife. If she is the daughter of a chief, a senior chief or a king, she may be the third or fifth to be married but comes in and outranks the wives who were married before she came. This is the rule with AmaZulu and that is why Queen Mantfombi became senior wife, being the daughter of King Sobhuza.”

It is Nhlapo’s view that royal matters are more intricate than the son taking over from his father.

Madingiza says: “We are actually seeing history repeating itself here because the precedent of the AmaZulu king succession has not been a smooth one. King Zwelithini’s father, King Bhekuzulu kaPhumuzulu, became king after a lengthy succession dispute that overextended for four years.

”The royal family had disputes on who was the suitable candidate between Bhekuzulu and his other two brothers, Phikokwaziyo (the eldest) and Thandayiphi. Luckily, Prince Bhekuzulu’s mother had a letter that was signed by the late King Phumuzulu that stated Bhekuzulu as his heir and the dispute was resolved.

“It is interesting to note here that even though Bhekuzulu was the chosen king’s successor, he was not the eldest son. This shows that a king’s successor is not always determined by age and we cannot guarantee that King Zwlithini’s eldest son, Prince Misuzulu, may take over the throne as expected.”

The position of regent is not gendered as, according to Nhlapo, “in the very family we are discussing, fairly recent regents have been men”.

Says Madingiza, whose media profile thrives on discussing issues concerning African languages, culture and religion: “The position of regent is not strictly kept for women in the royal household; actually, there have been only few instances that such has happened. It is not King Shaka who had a female regent who stood for him, it was his father, King Senzangakhona, after the passing of his grandfather, Jama.

“Princess Mkabayi kaJama was a self-elected interim regent as King Senzangakhona was too young to reign and she is the second known female in the AmaZulu royal household to hold the position. Other regents who were males are Prince Mshiyeni (regent to King Bhekuzulu) and Prince Mcwayizeni (regent to King Zwelithini).”

Nhlapo says, “It is hardly likely that this is the first nasty spat in the long history of the monarchy”.

Madingiza says: “In terms of the succession, it has happened before as explained in the question earlier. But the issue of having one of the late king’s wives fight a court case against her family during a phase of mourning is surely a bad omen for the AmaZulu royal family if not the nation as a whole.

“Even the fights between the King Zwelithini’s siblings, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi and the royal family may continue yielding bad luck for the Zulu monarchy as we have seen with the recent deaths because surely the ancestors are not appeased.”

The two scholars are hopeful for an amicable solution to the impasse. Nhlapo says: “My hope is that Zulu customary law is rich enough to provide answers from within, and should be given a chance.”

Madingiza says: “The AmaZulu nation is one of the most well-known and respected in the world and the royal family should not let their quarrels tarnish the image of such a beautiful ethnic group.”

♦ Prince Misuzulu, 46, the eldest son of King Zwelithini, was chosen as successor to his father in the will of Zulu Queen Mantfombi DlaminiZulu, his mother, who sadly passed away last week.