By Johnathan Paoli
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has upheld President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2022 decision recognising King Misuzulu kaZwelithini as the rightful AmaZulu monarch, overturning a 2023 Gauteng High Court ruling that had set aside the recognition.
The SCA dismissed Prince Mbonisi Bekithemba KaBhekuzulu’s application with costs.
Delivering Monday’s judgment in Bloemfontein, Judge Dumisani Zondi, the Deputy President of the SCA, found that the High Court had erred in concluding that the allegations raised by the applicants were sufficient to warrant referral to an investigative committee.
“The question is whether the High Court was correct in its conclusion. Put differently, the question is whether the allegations that were raised by King Misuzulu’s detractors, that his identification was not in accordance with Zulu customary law and traditions, constituted a sufficient basis for the President to cause those allegations to be investigated by an investigative committee,” Zondi said.
He stressed that while mere allegations may trigger an investigation, they must contain enough factual grounding to justify such a referral.
“I, however, disagree with the High Court’s conclusion that the mere assertion that customary law and customs had not been followed in the identification, would be sufficient,” the judge ruled.
The SCA found that the identification of Misuzulu by the royal family in May 2021 was carried out in line with Zulu custom, and that by the time Ramaphosa conferred formal recognition, no substantive evidence existed to challenge the process.
The ruling overturns a December 2023 Pretoria High Court judgment by Judge Norman Davis, which had set aside Ramaphosa’s recognition of Misuzulu following a challenge by Princes Mbonisi and Simakade Zulu.
In that case, the court found that proper procedures under customary law and the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act of 2019 had not been followed, and ordered the president to establish an investigative committee to review the matter.
The Zulu succession dispute began after the death of King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu in March 2021, who had reigned for more than five decades.
In his will, he nominated his wife, Queen Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu, as regent.
The queen later nominated her first-born son, Prince Misuzulu, as successor.
However, she passed away in April 2021 before she could be officially installed.
At a family meeting in May 2021, attended by the late Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi as traditional prime minister of the Zulu nation, Misuzulu was publicly identified as heir to the throne.
President Ramaphosa formally recognised his kingship in March 2022, handing him a certificate of recognition in a ceremony at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium.
But Princes Mbonisi and Simakade Zulu challenged this recognition in the Pretoria High Court, arguing that the family meeting had not properly followed Zulu custom.
Judge Davis agreed and ruled that Ramaphosa’s recognition was unlawful.
Both the president and King Misuzulu appealed the decision to the SCA, arguing that the royal family had correctly identified the heir and that the president’s role was limited to giving effect to the family’s decision.
In response to the judgment, King Misuzulu’s spokesperson, Prince Thulani Zulu, welcomed the court’s findings, saying they had always maintained that the succession process was carried out according to custom.
He urged Princes Mbonisi and Simakade Zulu’s supporters to accept the outcome and join efforts to unify the royal household.
The judgment is being hailed as a definitive end to the legal wrangling that has clouded Misuzulu’s reign since his father’s death.
While dissenting voices in the royal family remain, the SCA has now confirmed that the identification and recognition of Misuzulu were both lawful and binding.
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