A raging battle for the control of King Misuzulu kaZwelithini's affairs is underway in the Zulu Royal Household and the KwaZulu-Natal government.
At the heart of it is control of the king's budget of R72 million a year and the potentially lucrative Ingonyama Trust Board which administers over 2.8 million hectares of land in the province on behalf of the King.
In the latest twist, two letters were leaked to the media this week, claiming His Majesty has fired his official spokesperson Prince Afrika Zulu of Onkweni and Inkosi Thanduyise Mzimela, the chairperson of the Ingonyama Trust Board.
A faction that leaked the letters claimed the sheriff of the court has been trying to serve Inkosi Mzimela with a letter telling him to vacate his position - while Prince Afrika has already been fired.
Both letters were leaked to Scrolla.Africa this week as the infighting within King Misuzulu's inner circle continues.
A letter to expel Prince Afrika is said to have come from Prince Simphiwe Zulu of kwaMinyamanzi.
It states that he was instructed by King Misuzulu to expel Prince Afrika.
The letter states that King Misuzulu has received complaints about Prince Afrika from the Gauteng premier's office, the office of the deputy president and others.
Meanwhile, a letter from the deputy sheriff of the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate's Court claims that Inkosi Mzimela has refused to accept a previous letter removing him from office.
"On this 25th day of October 2023 at 11.35 pm and after determining that the defendant refused to accept the letter. I properly served this letter by affixing a copy thereof to the principal reception desk of such place of business," the sheriff's letter reads.
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The matter is handled by King Misuzulu kaZwelithini's lawyers Cavanagh & Richard Attorneys who represented the King recently at the North Gauteng High Court during the case concerning the battle over the throne.
Inkosi Mzimela told Scrolla.Africa that he was not aware of any attempts by the sheriff to reach him, adding that he has been talking to the King, discussing the petrol card of Queen kaMayisela.
"I am still the chairperson of the board and yesterday I was in the office signing some documents as part of my work," he said.
On Wednesday night Scrolla.Africa interviewed both Prince Afrika and Prince Simphiwe and they both dismissed the letters as being peddled by a faction that was trying to take control of the King's affairs.
"I was with Prince Simphiwe in Gauteng for the welcoming ceremony of the Springboks. He was worried about this letter that is aligned to him. As I have said before, the very same people who wrote that letter to remove the Ingonyama Trust board chairperson are also behind this. Now they are using lawyers to remove him because they failed with that letter," said Prince Afrika.
Prince Simphiwe said that he is considering opening a criminal case with police because it is clear that someone used his name without his consent.
"I never wrote any letter and the King has never instructed me at any point to expel Prince Afrika from his duties. The worst part is that I don't know anyone from the premier of Gauteng or from the office of the deputy president of the country. These are all lies that need police intervention," said Prince Simphiwe.
The princes said they plan to call a media conference next week to set the record straight.
