Prince Mbonisi says late King Zwelithini's siblings stripped of right to identify next Zulu king

BLOEMFONTEIN - Late Zulu King Zwelithini’s brother, Prince Mbonisi, has argued that he and his other siblings were stripped of the right to identify who should become the next king, following the passing of the late monarch in 2021.  

The prince is opposing President Cyril Ramaphosa's application seeking to overturn a decision by the Pretoria High Court that King Misuzulu was wrongfully recognised as monarch. 

The prince said that critical members were denied their rights in this regard.

His lawyer, Menzi Simelane, said: "So the siblings Prince Mbonisi described in his founding affidavit, his siblings - the late king's siblings that I've mentioned - Prince Mbonisi, Prince Vulindlela, Prince Mathubesizwe and Prince Mxolisi, those are the ones who sit and determine who the heir is, taking into account all the other views."

Simelane added that the process was unjust.

"Prince Mbonisi, being the elder now that the king has since been deceased, could not lead that family in the manner that custom dictates for the sole reason and no other that there were other participants who got themselves involved in those processes and things turned out the way they turned."

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