Zulu King Misuzulu’s love life shocks South Africa as he opts for divorce

The love lifetime of South Africa’s Zulu king has the nation agog – and has scandalised his socially conservative topics as he messes with custom by in search of a divorce.

Polygamy is a part of Zulu tradition, however King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has taken the bizarre step of going to courtroom to divorce his first spouse, Queen Ntokozo kaMayisela.

“Everybody was puzzled. Folks weren’t anticipating the king to go as far as to file for divorce,” Prof Gugu Mazibuko, a cultural knowledgeable at South Africa’s College of Johannesburg, informed the BBC.

“In Zulu tradition, there is no such thing as a divorce. You aren’t purported to thrust back your spouse,” she stated.

Thought to be the “lion of the nation”, the Zulu king is the custodian of age-old traditions that place marriage and polygamy on the coronary heart of royal success.

His position inside South Africa could solely be ceremonial, however he stays vastly influential, with a yearly government-funded price range of a number of million {dollars}.

The monarch – who grew up in neighbouring Eswatini, studied within the US and got here to the throne in 2021 – appears to courtroom controversy.

His coronation was challenged in courtroom by his elder half-brother, who has been attempting to grab the crown from him.

His second marriage seems to be shaky, his try and take a 3rd spouse hit the buffers and there are additionally studies of one other dalliance with a younger princess.

Nonetheless, the 50-year-old’s troubled private life was mentioned in hushed tones – that’s till he filed divorce papers in December.

Prof Mazibuko acknowledged that historic information appeared to recommend {that a} Zulu monarch within the twentieth Century had divorced one in every of his queens, nevertheless it had been a “high royal secret”, given royal divorce isn’t the norm.

“If a wedding doesn’t work out, the spouse will nonetheless reside within the king’s homestead. She can be given her personal house. She is not going to have a relationship with the king, however she and her kids can be well-cared for.”

It was simply earlier than his accession to the throne – following the sudden demise of his father and mom 4 years in the past – that the then-Prince Misuzulu married Ntokozo Mayisela.

The 2 have been already a pair and had two kids collectively, however in line with one other cultural knowledgeable, Prof Musa Xulu of the College of Zululand, the choice to marry appeared be be hurried.

“It appears as if he felt he couldn’t be a king with out a spouse,” he informed the BBC.

Queen kaMayisela got here from an “atypical household” – as lots of the wives of Zulu kings do – in a small mining city in KwaZulu-Natal province.

It was as a cabaret singer acting at a restaurant within the coastal metropolis of Durban that she caught the royal eye, the tutorial stated.

Her senior standing within the household was made clear on the king’s state coronation in December 2022 when she sat by his aspect.

However her place is now beneath menace, with the monarch saying in courtroom papers that they haven’t lived as husband and spouse for at the very least yr and their marriage has irretrievably damaged down.

The palace adopted this by sending out invites for the king’s marriage ceremony to a brand new bride, Nomzamo Myeni, set to happen in late January. The bride-price, referred to as lobola, had already been paid in cattle – a prized asset in Zulu tradition.

Queen kaMayisela didn’t take any of this mendacity down, instituting separate courtroom motion to halt the marriage, which was postponed in consequence.

Her argument was that the king – recognized to his topics as “Ingonyama”, that means Lion – could be committing the offence of “bigamy” with out first “changing” his civil marriage to her into a standard Zulu marriage.

However the decide threw out her case, saying she had had a “turnaround” in perspective as she had already agreed her husband may take different wives.

He famous the monarch had already performed so – marrying Nozizwe kaMulela, the MD of Eswatini Financial institution, in 2022.

Prof Mazibuko defined that polygamy was not initially a part of Zulu tradition, in truth the primary two kings have been bachelors.

But it surely was embraced by their successors – King Misuzulu is the ninth monarch of the Zulu nation – and has turn into a part of Zulu tradition.

“That is how we construct households, particularly the royal household,” Prof Mazibuko stated.

Queen kaMulela comes from an influential household in Eswatini and the wedding was apparently organized to strengthen the ties between the royal families.

But it’s unclear whether or not the pair are nonetheless in a relationship, because the high-powered banker has not been noticed at Zulu cultural occasions for some time – with hypothesis their remaining marriage rituals haven’t been accomplished.

The present king’s varied marriage issues appear to stem from the truth that custom has not been correctly adopted.

Within the case of the primary spouse, he opted for a modern-day marriage, with out a conventional marriage ceremony.

“For a wedding to be perfected beneath Zulu customized, there needs to be a public gathering, with music and dance,” Prof Xulu stated.

“You, because the bride, should lead with a solo music and the bride-maids dance with you, and also you carry a spear which you give to the king – after which there is no such thing as a going again.”

This has left Queen kaMayisela with out the safety of custom – and solely the supply of month-to-month upkeep of $1,100 (£850) for a yr, although she was prone to demand extra earlier than returning to the lifetime of a commoner, Prof Xulu stated.

Within the case of the second spouse, the tutorial stated lobola had been paid in January 2022, however royal insiders recommend the king felt “those that went to pay did not have the authority to take action” – plus this union has not been marked with a public ceremony.

The fortunes of the would-be third spouse, Nomzamo Myeni, stay unclear because the king didn’t marry her in January regardless of the courtroom giving the go-ahead.

Prof Xulu stated that in Zulu tradition a “postponed” marriage often by no means takes place.

Although Ms Myeni remains to be being seen with the king, accompanying him to a state event last week where she was referred to as a queen, suggesting their marriage ceremony could happen as soon as the king’s divorce goes by way of.

But as a commoner she would convey no highly effective connections along with her, which can be why one of many monarch’s aides lately confirmed to native media there was “a brand new queen-to-be” – Sihle Mdluli, who hails from the royal household of a small ethnic group in South Africa.

The aide recommended she could be named “the mom of the nation” – a title that may make her essentially the most senior queen along with her kids doubtless heirs.

However Prof Xulu stated he wouldn’t be stunned if that marriage ceremony additionally didn’t happen, because the king’s relationships all appeared to run into hassle.

“I’m not certain whether or not he was able to be king, and whether or not he has good advisers,” the tutorial stated.

He identified that the monarch had additionally been behaving erratically in his public life, sacking a number of senior officers in his retinue.

On high of this, he has put in himself because the chairman of the board of a financially profitable land belief, of which he’s the only real trustee.

The belief was controversially established shortly earlier than South Africa grew to become a democracy in 1994, giving it management of about 2.8 million hectares (seven million acres) of land in KwaZulu-Natal.

King Misuzulu has additionally suspended all members of the board, bar one, accusing them of being uncooperative.

He did this towards the recommendation of the federal government, which identified that as chairman he could be required to account to parliament in regards to the belief’s operations – one thing that may not be in step with his standing as a constitutional monarch.

The dispute stays unresolved, giving the federal government a significant political headache because it tries to keep away from going head-to-head with the king.

Prof Xulu stated he wouldn’t be stunned if in some unspecified time in the future a robust rival faction inside the royal household launched a contemporary bid to dethrone him by asking the courts to rule that he’s not “match and correct” to be king.

The monarch’s half-brother, Prince Simakade Zulu, who’s the late king’s eldest son, has lengthy coveted the crown, however his backers have been outmanoeuvred by Misuzulu’s allies in succession discussions.

President Ramaphosa later gave Misuzulu a “certificates of recognition”, paving the way in which for him to be funded by the federal government.

However Prince Simakade’s supporters didn’t quit – going to the Excessive Court docket to declare his state coronation “illegal” – and received.

The courtroom dominated that President Ramaphosa had didn’t adjust to the legislation, which required him to order an investigation into objections to Misuzulu’s accession.

The established order stays, pending the result of an enchantment.

The scandals have the potential to weaken the king’s place ought to it come to a different tussle for the crown.

Although Prof Mazibuko famous there had at all times been fierce competitors for the Zulu crown – besides nowadays it takes place in courtroom as a substitute of a bloody battlefield.

“He’s not the primary king to undergo so much,” she stated. “I hope he survives, and all the pieces settles down.”