KwaZulu-Natal High Court Judge Isaac Madondo has ordered that the coronation of Prince Misuzulu KaZwelithini, the Zulu king in waiting, can go ahead.
Judge Madondo dismissed with costs the application by Prince Mbonisi Zulu to stop his nephew, Misuzulu kaZwelithini, from being crowned as the Zulu king.
The ruling came after Zulu princesses Ntandoyenkosi Zulu and Ntombizosuthu Zulu-Duma applied for an interdict to stop the coronation process of Prince Misuzulu. They claimed that the will of the late King Goodwill Zwelithini, who died in March last year, was forged.
The judge said that claims made regarding the new king were based on hearsay and therefore should be dismissed.
Madondo said that although the princesses sought to halt the coronation process, they had not disputed that members of the royal family had elected Prince Misuzulu as Zulu king.
The Pietermaritzburg High Court has ruled that the coronation of King Misuzulu may go ahead, but that King Goodwill Zwelithini’s will needed to be investigated.
High Court Judge Isaac Madondo delivered the verdict on Wednesday.
The princesses have, however, successfully suspended the execution of Zwelithini’s will, pending a trial that will ascertain its validity.
The interdict will last 15 days before it lapses.
Two experts testified about the will, but their views were conflicting.
The court also dismissed Queen Windred Dlamini-Zulu’s application to have 50% of the late King Goodwill Zwelithini’s will set aside for herself.
Madondo said there was presently no dispute about the will, and he could therefore not make an order on the matter.
He also said that the prince’s bid to stop the coronation was incorrect.
“His application was grounded on the fact that should the coronation takes place pending the final applications of the applicant queen and the applicant princesses that will cause the members of the Zulu royal family to divide even further,” Madondo said.
He also said that the mere fact that the coronation date, which was said to be late last year, had come and gone made the application irrelevant.
Added to this, Madondo cited that the prince’s application did not dispute that the nominated king should ascend to the throne.
Watch supporters of Misuzulu rally for him