On May 7, 2021, during a ceremony at the KwaKhangelamankengane Royal Palace in Nongoma, fellow warriors in traditional clothing surrounded King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini, who is seated in the centre.
The health of the most powerful traditional monarchy in South Africa, the Zulu king, was unknown on Sunday after his spokesperson denied rumours that he had been admitted to the hospital.
With his father’s death, Goodwill Zwelithini, 48-year-old Misuzulu Zulu, took the king amid a sour dispute over the royal succession.
Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the prominent Zulu prime minister, said in a press statement late on Saturday that the king had been admitted to a hospital in the neighbouring nation of Eswatini after becoming unwell.
He said that after the abrupt and unexpected death of one of his close advisors on Saturday, the monarch now believes he was poisoned.
Although the Zulu nation’s kings lack governmental authority, they have a significant moral impact on the more than 11 million Zulus who make up about a quarter of South Africa’s 60 million inhabitants.
Six women and at least 28 children were left behind by King Zwelithini, who passed away after more than 50 years in power.
Zwelithini’s third wife, whom he named as regent in his will, is the mother of Misuzulu, his first child.
Nevertheless, the queen passed away unexpectedly a month after Zwelithini, leaving a will designating Misuzulu as the new king, a decision that rankled other family members.
