Prince Simakade awaits legal advice on Supreme Court decision that affirmed Misuzulu as amaZulu king

The Zulu royal family's ‘rebelling side’, led by Prince Simakade, says it is awaiting a brief from its legal team on whether to appeal the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) that affirmed Misuzulu kaZwelithini as the legitimate king of AmaZulu.

On Monday, the Supreme Court overruled the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria's, 2023 judgment that had set aside King Misuzulu’s recognition as monarch by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Speaking on behalf of Prince Simakade’s side, Prince Mazwi Zulu of KwaMinyamazi residence said their legal team was still analysing the judgment with a view to whether it was appealable or not.

“After getting the judgment, we immediately instructed our legal team to analyse and come back to us with a legal opinion on whether there are grounds for an appeal or not; therefore, we are awaiting their brief,” said Prince Zulu.

On March 16, 2022, Ramaphosa officially recognised Misuzulu’s ascension to the throne, which was followed by a certificate handover ceremony at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban that year. However, Zulu princes Mbonisi and Simakade challenged the president’s recognition of Misuzulu in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria. 

In December 2023, Judge Norman Davis ruled that the recognition was unlawful and ordered that the president should appoint a committee to investigate whether a meeting held on May 14, 2021, by the Zulu royal family, correctly followed the customary law and Zulu customs when declaring Prince Misuzulu as the king in terms of Section 8 of the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act 3 of 2019.

Lawyers for both the king and President Ramaphosa appealed the ruling to the SCA. They argued that all processes were followed and that the royal family had actually identified the king, with the president only later giving official recognition.

In delivering Monday's judgment, Judge Dumisani Zondi, the Deputy President of the SCA, said the allegations presented by the applicants ( Princes Mbonisi and Simakade) that the customary law was not followed in the May 2021 meeting were not sufficient for Judge Davis to refer the matter to the investigative committee. 

He said that while he agreed that it is the existence of evidence or allegations that will trigger the designation by the president of an investigative committee, he, however, disagreed 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 to justify its referral to an investigative committee.

Judge Zondi stated that he agreed with the counsel for King Misuzulu “that an allegation which would trigger the referral must contain the facts necessary to sustain the conclusion that customary law was not followed in the identification”.

“In other words, an allegation must be such that it constitutes a sufficient basis for the conclusion that the identification of a king or queen was not done in terms of the customary law and customs of the traditional community concerned,” read the judgment.

In welcoming the judgment, Misuzulu's spokesperson, Prince Thulani Zulu, called on both Prince Mbonisi's and Prince Simakade's supporters to 'return to the kraal' and work with the king in championing the course of the Zulu nation, assuring them that they will not be punished for ‘rebelling’.

willem.phungula@inl.co.za