The epic battle for the Zulu throne has been reignited following Monday’s decision by the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria to nullify and invalidate President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2022 decision to recognise King Misuzulu kaZwelithini as the king of AmaZulu and grant a certificate to that effect.

King Misuzulu was crowned king in a ceremony held at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium in October 2022 attended by statesmen and women, kings and queens, amabutho (warriors), Zulu maidens and thousands of people, wherein Ramaphosa handed King Misuzulu a certificate of recognition.

The court found that Ramaphosa had acted hastily in recognising Misuzulu without ensuring all protocols of identifying and selecting the king had been followed.

Monday’s court decision follows an application by Prince Simakade Zulu, a half-brother of King Misuzulu, who approached the court and filed an application effectively challenging Ramaphosa’s decision to recognise Misuzulu as King of AmaZulu.

For three days in October this year, the high court sat to hear arguments from Prince Simakade’s lawyers, as well as those representing President Cyril Ramaphosa and those of King Misuzulu.

Read more in Daily Maverick: The royal battle over Zulu kingdom succession takes a new legal twist

Reading his judgment on Monday, Judge Norman Davis, said: “The judgment is not about who should be king of the AmaZulu. The applicants didn’t ask the court to determine that issue. The applicants brought two review applications and the court was required to determine those.”

Judge Davis insisted that his judgment should not be read as setting aside Misuzulu’s kingship or annulling him as the legitimate heir to the AmaZulu throne.

“In respect of the first question, [Judge Isaac Madondo] had already pronounced in related litigation in the KwaZulu-Natal Division, Pietermaritzburg on 2 March 2022 that King Misuzulu is the rightful heir to the throne. Even if that decision is being attacked this court cannot sit as a court of appeal and that decision is regarded as res iudicata (something which has already been decided),” Judge Davis ruled.

Davis said the application that was brought before him, and on which he was making his judgment, was limited to looking at the lawfulness of the process that was followed in line with Zulu customs and whether President Ramaphosa was correct in issuing the certificate “in terms of the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act 3 of 2019”.

Read more in Daily Maverick: High court judgment clears Prince Misuzulu for next amaZulu crown

The judge also ordered Ramaphosa to appoint an investigating committee comprising experts on Zulu royal matters to investigate and determine the rightful heir to the throne.

Succession battle begins, again

The judgment has effectively thrown the AmaZulu king’s succession battle wide open. Theoretically, any of the late King Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu’s sons could be kings.

Professor Musa Xulu, a retired academic and political and social commentator, said: “The North Gauteng High Court ruling which set aside the recognition of King Misuzulu as King of the Zulu Nation was not completely unexpected. As a researcher, I have always pointed out that it looks like certain houses of the Zulu Royal Household were excluded from the nomination process that nominated Prince Misuzulu to the throne. So that is going to be a subject of investigation now.

“Secondly, Judge Madondo blundered in the PMB High Court in January 2022, when he dealt with the merits of the nomination of Misuzulu to the throne, a matter that was in dispute but not in front of him. The President relied on this misinformed decision of Judge Madondo. So, it is likely now that Zulus may end up with a new king. The Zulu Royal Family has to decide,” Xulu said.

Mpumelelo Zikalala, a legal expert, told SABC News that he expected an appeal against the ruling of the high court in Pretoria by either President Ramaphosa or King Misuzulu.

“Technically, King Misuzulu is still sitting on the throne,” he said.

Mkhuleko Hlengwa, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) spokesperson, said his party had noted the judgment, but they believed the matter was for the Zulu royal family to deliberate and decide on “without the involvement of politics or political parties”.

AmaZulu is the largest ethnic group in South Africa, with an estimated 12 million Zulu-speaking people, predominantly in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) — isiZulu is the home language to about 24% of South Africans.

In 2022, South African taxpayers were paying up to R75-million in that financial year to support the king and Zulu royal family members.

The Zulu king presides over many farms and livestock ranches in the province and has many investments. But these properties and assets are handled in secrecy.

There is also the matter of Ingonyama Trust and the land under it. The Ingonyama Trust Act was the result of secret negotiations, spearheaded by Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi in the last days of apartheid.

The Ingonyama Trust Act gave birth to a controversial entity called the Ingonyama Trust Board, which is the nominal owner of some 2.8 million hectares of land in KZN that was previously owned by the “homeland” government. As a result of this Act, the Zulu king is the sole trustee of the Ingonyama Trust Board and therefore controls what happens to nearly 30% of KZN provincial land.

After Monday’s court decision, it remains to be seen what the status of King Misuzulu will be or whether he will continue to carry out his duties as the king.

Prince Mboniso Zulu, brother of the late King Zwelithini and who was vehemently opposed to King Misuzulu’s elevation to the throne, told journalists that his family (the Zulu royal family) will wait for their lawyers and legal expert to call a meeting where they will explain the full judgment and its impact on the Zulu royal family and the future of the throne. DM