Thousands of people, including high profile guests, are expected to descend on the Zulu kingdom next week for the traditional wedding of Amazulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini to Nomzamo Myeni at Kwakhangelamankengane palace. The king married Ntokozo Mayisela in a civil marriage a few years ago but in African tradition, civil marriages are not recognised and Myeni will enjoy the status of being the king’s wife. 

The king’s wedding ceremony was formally announced  at the weekend by his chief lobola negotiator Prince Gibizizwe Zulu from Osuthu residence. On Sunday, Zulu said preparations for the Saturday wedding are at an advanced stage and thousands of guests, including senior government officials, are expected to attend.

“Our hands are full as we speak. We are preparing for a big weekend in the Zulu kingdom where the king will traditionally wed for the first time. In our tradition this is an official wedding, as we do not recognise civil marriages,” said Zulu.

The wedding will be preceded by umkhehlo (showering of gifts to the bride by a man before the formal wedding). The umkhehlo will take place at Pongola stadium in the north-east of KwaZulu-Natal. The bride’s family hails from Pongola.

The king’s marriage to Myeni was supposed to take place in January, however soon after the announcement of the date, Mayisela approached the Pietermaritzburg High Court where she filed an urgent application to interdict the wedding.

Her argument was that the king would be breaking the law as he was married to her under the civil Marriage Act, which forbids the couple from entering other marriages while the first one still exists. The court dismissed the application as not urgent and struck it off the roll. Secondly, it said there was no proof that the traditional ceremony that was announced would amount to a wedding. In his defence, the king denied getting married.

Before announcing plans to marry Myeni, the king first filed divorce papers on Mayisela, citing the irretrievable breakdown in the relationship. The king further stated that there was no communication between them except discussing matters related to their children, however, the divorce did not proceed as Mayisela still lives at the royal kraal.

Misuzulu then announced that he was stripping Myeni of her spousal benefits which included her security detail, however, this was reversed as she then attended official events with the king.

willem.phungula@inl.co.za

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