After a heated succession battle following the demise of Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini last year, a new King Misuzulu KaZwelithini has finally been crowned.
Thousands of traditionally dressed Zulu warriors including a Zimbabwean contingent from the Ndebele Royal Khumalo clan.
A bevy of maidens arrived KwaKhangelamankengane royal palace in KwaNongoma– rural part of the KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday to celebrate the coronation of King Zwelithini
Misuzulu ka Zwelithini was crowned a year and a half after his father Goodwill Zwelithini succumbed to Covid-19.
Some members of the royal family reject his nomination preferring other siblings out of the late king’s 28 children. “I know that you are aware of the state of the royal family in recent times. Whatever you hear in the media, and the comments being made by those disputing the throne, do not listen to them,” said Misuzulu ka Zwelithini.
The coronation rituals included sacred moments such as the lion hunt and the entrance to the cattle Kraal a sacred place where the soon-to-be king is presented to the ancestors.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recognised the 48-year-old king as heir to the throne and should later in the year certify the crowning.
Although the king of the country’s largest ethnic group has no executive power, he wields great moral authority over its more than 11 million people.
