King Misuzulu KaZwelithini has called on the royal family and the Zulu nation at large to remain calm because he is still on the throne.
The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has not dethroned him, he said in a statement on Tuesday.
''His Majesty calls upon the royal family, amakhosi/traditional leaders of the kingdom, and the Zulu nation at large to remain calm, focused and confident because the King is still on the throne and continues with his day-to-day engagement of the Zulu nation,'' the statement read.
Two different court rulings have left the Zulu nation and the country confused.
- Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Isaac Madondo ruled in March 2022 that Prince Misuzulu was the ''undisputed successor to the throne''.
- North Gauteng High Court Judge Norman Davis on Monday found the process of identifying the king did not follow, with complete fairness, Zulu customs. The court ordered President Cyril Ramaphosa to set up an investigative committee to look into the identification process.
- Judge Davis said his ruling does not extend to Prince Misuzulu's legitimacy for the throne.
King Misuzulu insisted that Monday's ruling by Judge Norman Davis did not dethrone him.
The court found only that Ramaphosa had failed to follow the Traditional Leadership and KhoiSan Act of 2019 in the run-up to the official recognition of King Misuzulu by the state in March 2022.
In response, King Misuzulu said he was studying the ruling with his legal team, Cavanagh & Richard.
King Misuzulu KaZwelithini was appointed king in May 2021 at the KwaKhangelamankengana Royal Palace in Nongoma soon after the funeral of his late mother, Queen Regent Mantfombi, in a process led by the late Prince Buthelezi and Advocate Griffiths Madonsela.
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This was based on Queen Mantfombi's will after she was named Queen Regent by her late husband, King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu.
The throne is being challenged by several people in the royal family.
The house of Queen Sbongile maDlamini of the KwaKhethomthandayo Royal Palace wants her daughter, Princess Nombuso Zulu, to be the Regent.
She would hold the position for the son of her late brother Prince Lethukuthula, who was killed in Johannesburg in 2020.
Prince Lethukuthula's claim to the throne is that he was the first born son of the first wife. Therefore his young son should be the next king upon maturity now that his father is dead.
Prince Mbonisi, a brother of the late King Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, wants Prince Buzabazi to ascend the throne. Prince Buzabazi is the son of the late King Zwelithini and Queen Buhle kaMathe of the kwaDlamahlahla Royal Palace .
Other senior royals want Prince Simakade kaZwelithini, whose court challenge was the one heard this week, to take over the throne.
There is also disunity at Queen Mantjombi's KwaKhangelamankengana Palace as some of King Misuzulu's siblings want their last-born brother Prince Simingaye to ascend the throne.
