The love life of South Africa Zul King has a rural agog – and scandalized his socially conservative topics as he messed up from tradition, seeking divorce.
Polygamy is part of the culture of Zulu, but the king of Kazwelithini has taken an unusual step of going to court to divorce his first wife, Queen Ntokozo Kamayisel.
“Everyone was confused. People did not expect the king to go so far as to apply for divorce,” said Prof. Gugu Mazibuko, a cultural expert at the University of South Africa in Johannesburg, for the BBC.
“There is no divorce in Zulu culture. You should not persecute your wife,” she said.
Considering “Lion of Nations”, King Zulu is a guardian of the centuries -old traditions that marriage and polygamy place in the center of royal success.
His role in South Africa can only be solemn, but he remains extremely influential, with an annual government budget of several million dollars.
The monarch – who grew up in neighboring Eswatini, studied in the United States -ii to the throne in 2021 – it seems to be a co -dispenser.
His crowning in court was challenged by his older half -brother, who tried to remove the crown from him.
His second marriage seems to be trembling, trying to take his third wife hit an interpreter, and there are reports of another Dallianance with the young Princess.
However, there used to be a discussion of a problematic personal life of a 50-year-old in muffled tones-it is until he submitted his divorced works in December.
Professor Mazibuko admitted that one of the monarch in the 20th century divorced one of his queens, but it was a “top royal secret”, since the royal divorce is not the norm.
“If the marriage fails, the wife will continue to live in the king’s property. She will get her own space. She will not have a relationship with the king, but she and her children will be well -groomed.”
Immediately before his accession to the throne – after the sudden death of his father and mother four years ago – then the then prince married to the Mayisel.
The two were already a couple and had two children together, but according to the second cultural expert, prof. Musa Xulu of the University of Zululand, it seems that the wedding decision is hurried.
“He seems like he felt he couldn’t be a woman without a woman,” he told the BBC.
Queen Kamayisela came from “ordinary families” – as many wives do Zul Kings – in a small mining city in Kwazulu -Natal Province.
As a Kabaret singer who performed at a restaurant in the Durban coastal town, she caught the royal eye, the academic said.
Her older status in the family was clear at the King’s State Coronation in December 2022, when she was sitting next to him.
But her position was now under threat, with the monarch in court documents that they had not lived as a husband and wife for at least a year, and their marriage was irreversibly shattered.
The palace followed by sending a call to the king’s wedding to the new bride, Nomzamo Mynei, which will be held in late January. Podinci, known as Lobola, was already paid in the cattle – a respected property in Zulu culture.
Queen Kamayisel did not take any of this, placing a separate lawsuit in court to stop the wedding, which was delayed as a result.
Her argument was that the King – known to his subjects as “Ingonyama”, which means that the lion – will commit the crime of “Bigamija” without the first “conversion” of her civil marriage to her into a traditional Zulu marriage.
But the judge kicked his case saying that she had a “turn” in attitude because she had already agreed that her husband could take other women.
He noticed that the monarch had already done so – he married the nosizwe camules, Dr. med. Eswatini Bank, 2022.
Prof. Mazibuko explained that Polygamy was not part of Zulu culture at first, in fact the first two king were a bachelor’s degree.
But they were accepted by their heirs – the king was the ninth monarch of the nation of Zulu – as a way of building an ally.
The Queen of Kamulel comes from an influential family in Eswatini and the marriage is obviously decorated for strengthening links between royal families.
However, it is not clear if the couple are still in a relationship, because the banker with great power has not been observed for some time at cultural events Zulu – with speculation their final marriage rituals have not been fulfilled.
Different king’s different marital problems appear to stem from the fact that the tradition is not properly followed.
In the case of his first wife, he opted for a modern marriage, without a traditional wedding.
“In order for the marriage to be perfected by Zulu Custom, there must be a public gathering, with song and dance,” Prof. Xulu said.
“You, as a bride, have to lead with a solo song and the brides dance with you, and you carry the spear you give to the king – and then you don’t go back.”
It left Queen Kamayisela without protecting the tradition – and only a monthly maintenance offer of 1,100 dollars (£ 850) for a year, although she probably demanded more before returning to the life of customs, Prof. Xulu said.
In the case of another wife, the academic said that Lobola was paid in January 2022, but the royal insiders suggest that the king felt that “those who went to pay did not have the authority for that” – plus this alliance was not marked by a public ceremony.
The happiness of the potential third wife, the Myeni, remains unclear because the king did not marry in January, despite the fact that the court gave the advantage.
Prof. Xulu said that in Zulu culture “delayed” marriage is usually never taken place.
Although Mrs. Myeni is still visible with the king, Accompanying him at a state event last week where she was called the queensuggesting that their wedding will happen after the royal divorce has passed.
However, as an ordinary person, she would bring any strong relationships with her, which is why one of the assistants of the monarch recently confirmed to the local media that there is a “new queen”-Sihle Mdluli, who comes from the royal family of a small ethnic group in South Africa.
The assistant suggested that she could be called the “mother of the nation” – a title that would make her the oldest queen with her children who are probably heirs.
But Prof. Xulu said he would not be surprised if that wedding also failed to happen, because the kings of relationships seemed to have come to problems.
“I’m not sure if he was ready to be a king and if he had good advisers,” the academic said.
He pointed out that the monarch also behaved wrongly in his public life, releasing several senior officials accompanied by his accompaniment.
On top of that, he installed himself as the chairman of the Committee of the Financial Bunning Trial, whose only guardian is.
Confidence was controversially established shortly before South Africa became democracy in 1994, which gave him control of about 2.8 million hectares (seven million hectares) of the country in Kwazulu-Nanal.
The King Missus also suspended all the members of the Committee, at least one, accusing them of being unprepared.
He did so against the Government’s advice, which emphasized that as a chairman he would have to explain to the parliament of confidence operations – something that would not be in line with his status of the constitutional monarch.
The dispute remains unresolved, giving the Government a great political headache because it tries to avoid moving with the king.
Prof. Xulu said he would not be surprised if at some point a powerful rival faction in the royal family launched a fresh offer to detronate asking him to rule that he was not “fit and appropriate” to be the king.
The semi -defense of the monarch, Prince Simakada Zulu, who is the oldest son of the late king, has long reigns the crown, but his supporters overcome the Missus Allies in discussions on succession.
President Ramaphos later gave a “certificate of acknowledgment” to the Misuzulu, racing the way to funded by the Government.
But Prince Simakade’s supporters did not give up – going to a high court to declare their state coronation “illegal” – and win.
The court ruled that President Ramaphos failed in accordance with the law, which demanded that he ordered an investigation into complaints on Missulu’s approach.
The status quo remains, until the outcome of the appeal.
Scandals over the private life of the King Missus – especially his divorce – have the potential to weaken his position if there is a second crown course.
Although prof. Mazibuko noted that there was always a fierce competition for the crown of Zulu – except these days it takes place in court instead of a bloody battlefield.
“He is not the first king to go through a lot,” she said. “I hope it will survive, and everything calms down.”
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