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South Africa’s Zulus crown new king as succession rages

#South #Africas #Zulus #crown #king #succession #rages

South Africa’s largest ethnic group, the Zulus, will crown a new king on Saturday after a year of bickering over who should take the throne of the country’s most influential traditional monarchy.

Misuzulu Zulu, 47, is set to succeed his father, Goodwill Zwelithini, who died in March last year after 50 years in office.

Although the title of king confers no executive power, Zulu monarchs exercise great moral influence over more than 11 million Zulus, who make up almost a fifth of South Africa’s population.

On Saturday, Misuzulu will enter the “cattle kraal” at the Zulu royal residence, or KwaKhethomthandayo, in Nongoma, a small town in the ethnic group’s southeastern core province of KwaZulu-Natal.

There he will take part in a secret rite to introduce his legendary ancestors to the new monarch.

After that, he will be introduced to his people, who will promise to “accept the king as their king,” said Gugulethu Mazibuko, an expert on African cultures at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Only select members of the royal family and Zulu warriors, known as amaButhos, are allowed to witness the kraal rite up close, but large crowds are expected to gather at the royal palace to celebrate the event.

Zulu ceremonies typically see bare-breasted women in ornate necklaces, waistbands and headbands singing and dancing, while men wearing animal skins and holding shields and spears perform war dances in homage to the Zulus’ military past.

– Royal Feud –

Zulu kings are descendants of King Shaka, the 19th-century leader who was still revered for having united much of the country as a Zulu nation that fought bloody battles against the British colonizers.

The first name of the new monarch means “strengthening of the Zulus”. But his path to the crown was the subject of a bitter family dispute.

King Zwelithini was survived by six wives and at least 28 children when he died last year at the age of 72 after a battle with diabetes.

Misuzulu is the first son of Zwelithini’s third wife, Shiyiwe Mantfombi Dlamini, whom the late monarch appointed regent in his will after his death.

But the Queen died suddenly a month later at the age of 68, sparking rumors that she had been poisoned.

She left a will that appointed Misuzulu to the throne – a development that did not go down well with other branches of the family.

After a failed court attempt to challenge the succession, Prince Simakade Zulu, the son of the late king’s first wife, underwent the Rinderkral rite surrounded by a small group of people last weekend to thwart Misuzulus’s last-ditch coronation .

And at a somber press conference held Thursday in Fourways, a northern suburb of Johannesburg, some of the late king’s brothers disowned both heirs and proposed a third prince as their candidate for the throne.

But President Cyril Ramaphosa recognized Misuzulu as the rightful king in March, paving the way for his accession to the throne.

– Land and Wealth –

The next Zulu monarch will inherit a fortune and open up a plentiful income.

Enjoying the perks of his royal status, Zwelithini received around 71 million rand ($4.2 million) annually from the government to handle royal affairs and fund a lavish lifestyle.

He owned several palaces and other properties, with a royal trust managing almost three million hectares of land – an area about the size of Belgium.

In return, the king serves as a guarantor of social peace, said Sihawukele Ngubane, a specialist at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

“He cares about the welfare of his subjects,” she said, explaining that the royals are responsible for community development and infrastructure on the land managed by the trust.

After Saturday’s rituals, the coronation process will conclude at another ceremony presided over by Ramaphosa, scheduled to take place in the coming months.

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