King Misuzulu has sidestepped his personal issues at his first public appearance this year. Picture: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers
King Misuzulu Zwelithini has avoided talking about his personal problems at Umkhosi Woselwa ceremony that was held at Emashobeni Royal Palace on Thursday.
Appearing in public for the first time after a month-long cultural seclusion, many people have anticipated that the king will touch on several issues that had dominated a public discussion leading up to this ceremony, however, His Majesty shied away from the personal issues, choosing to thank amakhosi (traditional leaders for allowing amabutho (warriors) to be part of the ceremony.
In a four-minute address, the king said the event was not for a lot of talks and long speeches, and thanked amabutho for the resilience.
“I wish to thank amabutho and doctors that have not slept working with us until the end of the ceremony. You will recall that the ceremony precedes another very important ceremony, that of the Battle of Isandlwana commemoration,” said the king without uttering a single word about his personal problems.
Among the personal issues the king was expected to talk about was his imminent divorce with his queen he married in a civil marriage in 2021, as well as his traditional wedding to his third wife, queen Nomzamo Myeni.
The king claimed an irreversible breakdown in his marriage to his queen in court documents he submitted at the end of last year, adding that it had been a year since they had lived apart as husband and wife.
His third queen’s wedding is set for next week, but it is unclear because Queen Ntokozo Mayisela filed urgent court papers in the Pietermaritzburg High Court, requesting an interdict on the grounds that the king married her in a civil marriage.
She pointed to a provision in the Marriage Act that prohibits a civil marriage from being remarried. The queen said that the king would be guilty of bigamy if he went ahead with the wedding.
At the time of publication, the publication was notified that the king’s legal team had not submitted their responding affidavit objecting to the wedding.
willem.phungula@inl.co.za